Celine Dion Mourns ‘Maman Dion,’ Says ‘It’s Because of Her That I Became a Performer’

Getty Images | TIMOTHY A. CLARY

In the midst of her world tour for the hit album “Courage,” Celine Dion mourned the passing of her mother at a very special show in Miami, Florida. Thérèse Tanguy-Dion, better known as “Maman Dion,” was 92 years old and is being celebrated for her life as mother of 14 children, her cooking show, food company, and foundation for needy children in Quebec.

But for her youngest and best-known daughter, the passing of her mother was a loss but also a reminder to carry on. “I know for sure she wanted me to be the best of myself tonight,” Dion told the audience at her show, per TODAY. “And I also know that she wanted all of you to have the time of your life.”

As Celine wrote in her mother’s memory on Facebook, “I’ll sing to you with all my heart.”

At her Jan. 17, 2020, show in Miami, Dion explained to her fans just how difficult it had been to say goodbye to the woman who gave her life and guided her for many years, even writing the first song Celine ever sang: “Ce n‘était qu’un rêve” (1981). It was her mother’s decision to send the song to producer René Angélil, who would become Celine’s manager and husband, that started her career.

Dion explained, knowing her mom’s time on earth was drawing to a close, “I joined my brothers and sisters in Montreal. And I spent the evening at her bedside. We told stories. We sang songs. We hugged each other and said our goodbyes.”

Dion acknowledged how instrumental her mom was to her music, noting Maman Dion’s love of singing, dancing, and playing the violin: “Music was such an important part of our lives. It’s because of her and my dad that I became a performer. So tonight, on behalf of my brothers and sisters and all of the family, we would love to dedicate this show to her.”

At the show’s finale, with the image of her mother on the big screen behind her, Dion sang the classic “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” thanking the crowd of adoring fans on her mother’s behalf.

From her early beginnings as a singer at the age of 12, Dion’s mother always was there to support her. Having worked hard all her life to support her family, Maman Dion instilled in her daughter the serious work ethic that has made her one of the most prolific performers of her era.

Music critic Mike Gauthier told CTV News that he thought Celine’s practical and humble country mother helped keep the singer from losing her head in the face of stardom, which unfortunately wasn’t the case for other child and adolescent stars. “She kept Celine grounded,” he said. “If Britney Spears, Justin Bieber, and Whitney Houston had Maman Dion around them, the story would be very different.” Gauthier asserts that “that’s probably why we will remember [her].”

Aside from her role as a mentor to her daughter, Maman Dion kept busy with her own activities. As she told the Montreal Gazette in 1999, during the launch of her popular cooking show, “Spending your time sitting in front of the TV—that’s not me. After about 20 minutes of inactivity, I have to be doing something.”

She would later have Celine on as a guest for her episode on cooking Middle Eastern food, in which the superstar singer praised her mom for teaching everything she knew about life.

Canadian singer Celine Dion, husband Rene Angelil, her son, Rene-Charles, her mother Therese, and former French President Nicolas Sarkozy after she was awarded with France's Legion d'Honneur during a ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris in 2008 ©Getty Images | CHARLES PLATIAU/AFP

Besides her forays into the food world, Maman Dion focused on helping the neediest children of her home province with her very own foundation. As the foundation’s website explains:

“The Fondation Maman Dion has been at work since 2005 and its mission is to foster the fulfillment, the development of self-esteem and the desire to succeed in school for young Quebecers between the ages of 5 and 16 who come from disadvantaged backgrounds.”

While Maman Dion is gone, she is clearly not forgotten by her children and the people of Quebec and Canada, who went online in huge numbers to pay tribute to her memory after her passing.