Singer Celine Dion's Husband Dies After Cancer Battle
René Angélil, 73, died Thursday at his Las Vegas home; Canadian entertainment manager discovered Dion when she was 12 and drove her career to stardom
MONTREAL — René Angélil, the husband of award-winning Canadian singer Celine Dion, died on Thursday at the age of 73 after a long battle with cancer, Dion announced. "It's with profound sadness that we are announcing that René Angélil, 73, died this morning at his Las Vegas home after a courageous battle with cancer. The family wishes to mourn in private," her website said. "Other information will be provided in the next few days." The Canadian entertainment manager, who discovered Dion, 47, when she was 12 years old and drove her career to stardom, married her in 1994 at a lavish wedding in Montreal's Notre Dame Basilica. The couple have three sons, René-Charles, 14, and five-year-old twins Nelson and Eddy. His illness, first diagnosed in 1999, prompted Dion to put her career on hold in 2014, suspending her Las Vegas residency. Dion said Angélil supported her later return to the stage. "My condolences to @CelineDion, and to the children, friends and loved ones of René Angélil on his passing," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted. In Montreal, flags were flying at half-staff in honor of Angelil, a spokeswoman for the city's mayor, Denis Coderre, said on Thursday. Angélil stepped down as Dion's manager in 2014, turning her career over to a friend of the couple but he remained involved in business decisions. Dion told Good Morning America in early 2015 that Angélil, who had throat cancer, had to eat with the help of a feeding tube three times a day, and was not able to talk or swallow. Angélil, a Montreal native, first met the French-Canadian singer when she was 12 after she sent him a recorded song she had written with her mother. He agreed to manage Dion in exchange for full control over her career and was said to have mortgaged his home to finance her first album. When Dion was 18, Angélil instructed the French-speaking singer to remake her image by changing her hair and capping her teeth, and register in English school so she could record songs for the U.S. market. Their marriage was initially opposed by Dion's mother, not only because of their 26-year age gap but because Angélil had three children from two previous unions, the singer told media in 2013. "I have to say that for my mom he was not the prince charming - the ideal prince charming. It was very difficult," Dion told Access Hollywood.com in 2013. The singer said her mother and family of 13 siblings came to approve of Angélil. "She had no choice. Love won."