Celine Dion biography (fwd)

Celine! Our Obsequiousness Will Go On!

	-- by Lisa Pollak (c) 1998, The Baltimore Sun

We were sitting in the office, humming the love theme to "Titanic,"
wondering, "Will that brilliant diva Celine Dion ever get the exposure she
deserves?" when something happened that made us want to rise to our feet
and beat our chest with one clenched fist, the way Celine does when she
sings "My Heart Will Go On." That something, of course, was the arrival of
"A Voice and a Dream: The Celine Dion Story" (Ballantine Books, $5.99).

Yes, Celine fans, we know what you're thinking: Between listening to
Celine's newly released French album and her coming Christmas album,
watching her just-around-the-corner holiday special and following her
world tour into the year 2000, however will we find the time to read 174
pages about "the world's hottest diva in a captivating story of a
real-life Cinderella"? 

No need to worry, busy fans. For you, we now present: "A Voice and a
Dream" the condensed version.

==

Page XI: Author Richard Crouse recalls the "engrossing journey" that was
getting to know Celine Dion.

Later, page XI: Author admits he has never actually met Celine Dion.

Page XII: Nonetheless, "That she has been able to maintain a level head amid
the whirlwind of her career fascinated me, forcing me to dig deep and study
her background." 

Page 6: Celine Dion is born in a village outside Montreal.

Page 8: Celine speaks her first sentence in French! "She absorbed the French
language very quickly, often able to memorize the entire lyrics to songs at a
very young age." Digging deep, author finds Celine lives in French-speaking
village. 

Page 11: Celine, "not yet 10," works up to eight hours a day rehearsing and
singing in parents' nightclub. 

Page 12: Work takes its toll on Celine's schoolwork. Lest her promising
career be cut short, "Ever-helpful siblings ... do her homework for her." 

Page 20: Rene Angelil, famous manager, meets 12-year-old Celine.  "You
wouldn't say she was a cute child," he says. He is particularly put off by
her "long, pointed incisors."

Page 28: Teen-age Dion travels the world to perform for adoring crowds, but
begs family: "If you ever see that I'm changing, please ...  tell me.  I
don't want to change." 

Page 32: Manager says Celine needs to change. New look will feature makeup,
"sassy" hair, revealing clothing and capped teeth.

Page 33: Despite impressive early mastery of French, Celine struggles with
English lessons. Gets feelings hurt at recording session when producer calls
her work "bitchin." 

Page 44: With Celine raking in the cash, manager invests in chain of
restaurants. Family members get glamorous jobs. "Brother Jacques is a night
manager." 

Page 75: "She was on the threshold of becoming the world's next superstar,
but Celine never forgot the people who got her there. Sitting in the back of
a stretch limo after one concert in Montreal, she insisted on rolling down
the tinted windows so her fans could see her." 

Page 81: Celine uses newfound English skills to make passionate declaration
of love to manager: "Rene has been my manager for 15 years. He is the only
man of my life, I don't know anything else."

Page 83: Celine prepares to wed Angelil. Because she has maintained a level
head amid the whirlwind of her career (Page XII), she will wear a $25,000
wedding gown with two 30-foot trains, a 7-pound Austrian crystal headdress
and a "thirty-five skin" mink jacket.

Page 107: Celine opines on favorite topics in recorded messages for fans.
Example: "I love high-heel shoes. ... They're very feminine and sexy and you
walk differently than when you wear running shoes."

Page 129: Celine gains entry into "International Who's Who" book, a work of
such prestige, the author notes, that "Pamela Anderson Lee ...  didn't make
the cut." 

Page 145: Having conquered French and English, Celine begins studying
Spanish. Her plans for future, long suspected, are finally confirmed:
"Learning new languages satisfied (Celine's) desire to educate herself, but
also opened up new markets in her plan for world domination" 


A

-- 
         I think I think; therefore, I think I am.  -Ambrose Bierce
             <nqnz@onm.bet> adam hirsch <http://web.baz.org/~adam/>