Get to know Céline Dion’s three kids: René-Charles, Nelson and Eddy

Céline Dion may be a superstar, but she considers her role as a mom to be the greatest “privilege."

The “My Heart Will Go On” singer and her late husband, René Angélil, share three sons together: René-Charles, 22, and twins Nelson and Eddy, 11. Angélil died in 2016 from throat cancer, and in the years since, Dion and her sons have continued to lean on each other for support.

Speaking to PEOPLE in 2007, Dion expressed that she wasn’t “really a singer” and instead, her “life is to be a mom.”

“It is what I enjoy the most. It is my most amazing reward,” she explained. “I will take a chance with my music. I don’t take risks with my family."

Related: Céline Dion's Most Adorable Moments with Her Children

She added of her eldest son René-Charles, “For me to be able to give my happiness to my son. I cannot achieve better than that.”

After Angélil's death, Dion was candid about her family’s grief and how they were moving forward.

“I feel extremely fortunate as a mother that — it’s probably the thing I’m the most proud of — I prepared my children for how to live ... how to live with him without his presence,” she told Ellen DeGeneres in October 2016.

She continued "It’s part of our life and life has imposed this on [Angélil] That was his destiny and I still feel extremely fortunate that he has given me three magnificent children. Wonderful pieces of luggage."

In May 2023, Dion's sons served as "her light" when she had to cancel all of her tours through April 2024 due to her stiff-person syndrome diagnosis.

"Her main focuses are always her sons and performing. She is the most selfless and considerate person," a source told PEOPLE. "Céline just loves her boys so much. They are amazing. They give her all the support and love that she needs."

Read on to learn more about Céline Dion’s three children.

René-Charles Angélil, 22

René-Charles, who was named after his father, was born on Jan. 25, 2001, in Loxahatchee, Florida, weighing 6 lbs., 8 oz. Dion and Angélil welcomed their first child together when she was 32, and he was 59 after a round of in vitro fertilization treatments.

Dion has referred to her eldest son as a “miracle child.” In May 2006, when René-Charles was 5, she opened up to PEOPLE about how much she loved being a mom to him.

“It relaxes me to read stories to him, do finger painting, play with Play-Doh. I think people have a hard time imagining I can have a normal life, but I do,” the singer said.

After nearly two decades touring the globe, Dion kicked off her first residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, which ran from March 2003 through December 2007. The singer said she was seeking a more stable routine to embrace her role as a mother, telling PEOPLE: “I am a full-time mom. That’s my priority. Then I go and sing a few songs at night.”

Her son was among the audience members at one particular show. “It was the only time I felt nauseous before a show,” she said, adding, "my son was going to be there looking at me as a performer and not as a mom reading stories at bedtime.”

Growing up, René-Charles was into sports. Dion told PEOPLE in 2015 that her then-14-year-old son was “very athletic” and that he loved to play golf and hockey.

A few years later, Dion was seen cheering and dancing in the stands at one of her son’s hockey games in Terrebonne, Quebec, while sporting a jersey with “Angélil” written on the back.

After his father’s death, René-Charles played an important role at Angélil's funeral by delivering a heartfelt eulogy. Reflecting on the moment during an interview with PEOPLE, Dion recalled that her son wasn’t sure he’d be able to read it.

To encourage him to read the eulogy, she told him: “‘I just want you to know your dad and I have always respected you. We respect your decision,’ ” before adding, “‘This is the last time you can talk to your dad. RC, it’s not for me or the people, it’s for your dad. ’ ”

Dion marveled at the strength her sons exhibited after the death of their father, especially René-Charles as the eldest of the three. Speaking to Extra in February 2017, she recalled what she told her firstborn shortly after Angélil died.

“I said to him, 'I never want you to feel the pressure of being the man of the house, you have your own dreams and he is always with you in your heart and I am here for you,' ” Dion said.

Today, René-Charles has followed in his parent's footsteps and is pursuing a career in music. In May 2018, he released two songs on SoundCloud, which went to No. 1 and 2 on the platform’s R&B & Soul New & Hot chart.

Related: Céline Dion Wishes Son René-Charles a Happy 21st Birthday with Throwback Photo: 'We Adore You'

René-Charles spoke to the Montreal Gazette after the songs dropped and shared the moment he played his mom the songs for the first time.

“I just felt like keeping it on the low. But she loved it. She was just kind of stunned at first, because she’d never heard anything from me,” he said.

In January 2021, he went on to release his EP titled Casino.5. Following the EP’s release, Dion celebrated her son on her Instagram Story, writing: “I'm so proud of my son. My love for him is so strong, and it touches me deeply that one of his passions is also one of mine.”

Dion also expressed her love for her eldest son in a touching Instagram post on his 21st birthday. Alongside a photo of Dion and Angélil cradling René-Charles as a newborn in the hospital, she wrote: “I’ve been thriving as I watch you grow. Your intelligence, your generosity, your courage, and your great sensitivity never cease to move me.”

Nelson and Eddy Angélil, 12

After six rounds of IVF and one miscarriage, Dion and Angélil announced that their family would be growing in 2010. Angélil told PEOPLE that the couple were “ecstatic” to be expecting twins.

He added, “Celine is just hoping for a healthy pregnancy. She was hoping for one baby and the news that we are having two is a double blessing.”

Fraternal twins Eddy and Nelson were born on Oct. 23, 2010, in West Palm Beach, Florida, weighing 5 lbs., 4 oz. and 5 lbs., 10 oz.

Eddy was named after producer Eddy Marnay, who produced Dion’s first five albums. Dion’s rep said at the time, “He was like a father to her. Eddy is a major influence in both Céline and René’s lives.”

Nelson, on the other hand, was named after Nelson Mandela, whom Dion once met while on tour.

“Céline and René want their children to be inspired by their names, because they were so inspired by these men," her rep added.

Even when they were infants, Dion could identify the distinct personalities of her twin sons.

“One is more gutsy than the other. Nelson seems to have a little stronger personality right now. He’s the tougher of the two,” she told Hello! in November 2010. "They are fraternal twins, but they look very alike. Nelson weighed more at the birth, but the doctor told us in a week or two, they’re going to be the same.”

Eddy and Nelson were only 5 years old when Angélil died. Dion broke the news to her youngest sons with the help of Disney’s Up. She waited a few days and then threw the twins a glitter and balloon-filled party ahead of her late husband's funeral. When explaining his death, she used a balloon analogy, telling them Angélil had “gone up” and floated away on balloons and would not return.

“I did not want to relate the passing to doctors and have them be afraid. It’s the thing I’m most proud of,” she explained to PEOPLE.

In an April 2017 interview with The Sun, Dion spoke about how she and the twins were coping with the loss. The singer said she would “organize” herself to not feel lonely, adding, “So I got myself a huge, huge, huge bed and I sleep with my twins. They are comforting me a lot. I need them. I need them close.”

“When it’s time for them to say they want their room, their room’s ready,” she said. “But we watch a lot of TV together. I’m discovering Disney.”

Staying true to her Up analogy, Dion, Eddy and Nelson had a sweet nighttime routine after Angélil’s death to remain close to him.

“We have a little ritual where we say goodnight to him with a little picture," she told the outlet. "Then the kids talk to him. And they write words, put them in balloons and we send the balloons to the sky.”

Related: Céline Dion Shares Rare Photo with Her Sons as She Celebrates Ukrainian Moms on Mother's Day

Before embarking on her Courage World Tour in September 2019, Dion opened up about the decision not to take her three children with her on tour. She explained during an April 2019 Q&A session, “My kids will be based in Las Vegas. I'm going to do the world tour but back and forth — I'll come home as much as possible."

"That's going to be the first time that I'm not going on tour with my kids," she said, adding that she ultimately believed the experience “will be good for” Eddy and Nelson because “they’re mature” for their age.

“They're 8 years old but sometimes I feel like they're 14 already," she said of her youngest sons. "They're very independent."

When Eddy and Nelson turned 10 in October 2020, Dion penned a touching message to them on Instagram. She shared a throwback photo of the duo posing in autumn leaves, followed by two side-by-side frames recreating old photos of Eddy and Nelson posing in piles of leaves.

“Nelson and Eddy, you have been bringing so much joy, love and laughter into our lives every single day for the past 10 years,” Dion wrote. “You make me, your big brother and your Dad, who is for sure watching over you, so very proud. Happy birthday my beautiful boys! We love you so very much.”

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