Celine Dion is gearing up to share more of an insight into her private life than ever before with the upcoming documentary I Am: Celine Dion.
The first trailer for the Prime Video production was released on May 23, which showed the 56-year-old Canadian songstress battling stiff-person syndrome while attempting a return to the stage.
Pictured alongside her in the trailer occasionally were her three boys, her oldest René-Charles, 23, and her twins Eddy and Nelson, 13, shared with late husband René Angélil. Watch the trailer below...
In an excerpt from her interview with Vogue France shared after the trailer's release, Celine spoke more candidly about the process of filming the documentary, being more vulnerable than ever, and allowing cameras to capture her life with her family.
She spoke about keeping her Las Vegas home as a "sacred" space before allowing director Irene Taylor in after establishing a connection with her. "This is the only place I have that I could suffer, cry, go crazy, be happy, sing, miss a beat — and right now, be vulnerable," she said.
"I needed to trust someone so much to be able to show them that. And just by hearing a little bit of Irene's own story, I was able to do that. I don't have a lot of friends. Now I consider Irene a friend. Because she understood."
Celine joked about her health struggles having been overblown in the past, saying: "I died already in newspapers many times," while sharing that the toughest thing about the mania surrounding her health has been having to explain it all to her children. "I have to remind them not to believe everything you read or hear."
She explained that it was partly for her sons that she wanted the documentary to be made. "The film was done with so much respect," she added. "I did allow Irene to capture things that maybe will be hard for some people to see, but it's my reality."
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The "Falling Into You" singer opened up about first discovering problems with her voice and ability to sing, spanning as far back as 2008. "Quite rapidly, I was having difficulty controlling my voice. It would go really high, and then it would spasm."
After consulting with doctors, who stated her vocal chords were perfectly fine, she continued to perform for years before noticing some muscle stiffness. "I started having a hard time walking. I was holding on to things."
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However, when the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020, she took it as an opportunity to finally get to the bottom of her struggles. "After years and years of playing hide-and-seek with myself, with my friends, with my family, with my kids….I no longer wanted to be brave. I had tried as long as I could. It was time for me to be smart."
Finally receiving her diagnosis after a time-consuming search, though, proved to be more of a relief than anything else. "It probably sounds very strange to say this to you, but when I was diagnosed, I was happy. I was finally able to move with the wave, not against it."