What Happened to Celine Dion? (Stiff Person Syndrome)

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The legendary singer Celine Dion has released a new documentary on her life with a rare disease, the stiff-person syndrome (SPS). The legendary singer had been cancelling tour dates due to muscle spasms. The symptoms she experiences also affects her voice and singing performance.

Table of contents

Who is Celine Dion?

Early Life of the Diva

The renowned Canadian songstress CĂ©line Dion was born in the tiny town of Charlemagne, Quebec on March 30th 1968. She is the youngest of 14 children in a French descent family. Her family has always been very musical, and this heavily influenced her while growing up.
Celine started singing at the tender age of 5 years old, with a big dream of becoming a singer. Her brother Michel eventually sent her singing tape to a famous music manager in Quebec, RenĂ© Angelil. The 12-year-old Celine was then invited to audition, which then led to Angelil taking out a mortgage on his home for Celine’s first album.

Rise to Fame

Celine’s music career exploded and she soon dropped out of school at the age of 14 to focus on her dreams. She also won the Eurovision song contest in 1988. Her superstardom reached a frenzied peak with the release of Titanic theme song “My Heart Will Go On” in 1997.
She continued her singing career with two Las Vegas residencies, multiple world tours, and more best-selling albums. She performed in 1100 shows on her Las Vegas residencies alone! Celine Dion has become a household name with her iconic performances. The singing icon’s influence has reached all over the world, with millions of fans across the globe.

Celine Dion’s Disappearance

Tour cancellations

“It’s hard to cancel a show,” Celine confessed on a clip from her recent documentary, “I Am: CĂ©line Dion”. The 56 year-old chanteuse had to cancel her tour dates and postpone her 2021 Las Vegas residency due to health issues. In 2022, she cancelled the remainder of her North American dates of her world tour due to ongoing recovery from health issues.
A few months after, she had to reschedule all of the Courage World Tour dates from 2022 to the next year. Sadly, Celine Dion then announced the cancellation of all of her tour dates in 2023 and 2024.
“I’m so sorry to disappoint all of you once again. I’m working really hard to build back my strength, but touring can be very difficult even when you’re 100%. It’s not fair to you to keep postponing the shows, and even though it breaks my heart, it’s best that we cancel everything now until I’m really ready to be back on stage again. I want you all to know, I’m not giving up… and I can’t wait to see you again!”
– Celine Dion via official website

Concerns about her health

These tour cancellations were surely concerning her fans and the general public. In a 2021 press release, it was announced that Celine has been having â€śsevere and persistent muscle spasms”. She was taking Valium to manage her symptoms before performances, which eventually stopped working.
The high doses she was taking could have been lethal, and Celine was ingesting up to 90 milligrams to be able to perform. Life happened, and it happened all at once. With her late husband René Angélil fighting throat cancer and her raising the kids, Dion was kept busy. Eventually, she looked for the root cause to her health issues.

What Happened to Celine Dion?

Diagnosis of Stiff-Person Syndrome

Through her recently released feature-length documentary “I Am: Celine Dion”, the ballad queen has shared her battle with health. Her first symptoms in 2008 was the start of her long time journey to diagnosis.
Her symptoms included muscle stiffness, muscle spasms, and difficulty performing. They were so bad that they broke her ribs. “I was very, very, very scared.” she confessed. She felt like she was losing control of herself, of her singing, of her performing career.


In December 2022, Celine Dion released an emotional video message in an Instagram post. She revealed that she was finally diagnosed with stiff person syndrome. With teary eyes, she shared that the rare condition really affects her daily life. She wanted to increase the public’s awareness of this little-known condition.
Celine’s documentary “I Am: Celine Dion” had been released in Prime Video on June 25. In the raw documentary, she was shown during an episode of seizure. The 56 year-old was crying out and her face twitched uncontrollably during the medical emergency. She wanted to honestly show her reality of living with the rare disorder.
Celine Dion fans responded with support for the singer, “We just want her to be ok.”

What is Stiff-Person Syndrome (SPS)?

Stiff person syndrome (SPS) is a rare neurological disease, and it is an autoimmune condition. This means that the body’s own immune system is attacking the nervous system, and it can get worse with time.
Symptoms of stiff person syndrome vary from person to person, but the most common symptoms are painful muscle spasms that start on the legs and back. Other symptoms include slurred speech, shortness of breath, double vision, and difficulty walking.
Painful episodes of painful spasms can be triggered by stress, touch, or noise.

Is there a cure for Stiff Person Syndrome?

With the current scientific research, there is no cure for stiff person syndrome. Currently, the very rare neurological disorder can only be managed with therapy and treatments. The treatment approaches available for this disease is physical therapy with a sports medicine therapist, medication, and ongoing efforts to manage symptoms.
Celine Dion is undergoing vocal therapy, physical therapy, and athletic therapy for five days per week.
“I work on my toes, my knees my calves, my fingers, my singing, my voice,” shared the songstress. “I’ve chosen to work with all my body and soul, from head to toe, with a medical team. I want to be the best I can be.” she added.

Recent Appearances and Updates

Due to her diagnosis, Celine Dion rarely makes public appearances in 2023 and 2024. Some of her rare appearance are at the Grammy Awards and during a Vegas Golden Knights hockey game. In August 2024, Celine Dion shocks the world with a comeback performance at the opening of Paris Olympics. The five-time Grammy winner sang an Edith Piaf song “L’Hymne Ă  l’amour” to a cheering crowd. Her triumphant return to the stage was met with a standing ovation.

Future Outlook: Celine Dion is Not Giving Up

What is next for Celine Dion? On an interview with TODAY, she shared her hopes for recovery and her determination to continue singing even when her vocal cords are affected.
“The show must go on,” the singer said with conviction, “I’m (going to) go back on stage, even if I have to crawl, even if I have to talk with my hands, I will.”
“I will.” Celine repeated, her eyes shining with strength.

TL;DR

  • Celine Dion was diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome (SDS), a rare autoimmune disorder affecting the nervous system.
  • She recently released a documentary showing her reality of living with the disease. Her journey battling stiff person syndrome and her resilience is an inspiration.
  • Celine is undergoing therapy and treatments and she is determined to go back to singing.
  • She recently performed in the opening ceremony of Paris Olympics 2024 against all odds!

P.S. = If you are interested in the “What happened to…” series, check out these posts on Tzuyang and Fat Cat & Tan Zhu

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