Everything about René Charles, Nelson and Eddie

Celine Dion may be a superstar, but she considers her role as a mother to be her greatest “privilege.”

The singer of “My Heart Will Go On” and her late husband, Rene Angelil, welcomed three sons together, Rene Charles and twins Nelson and Eddie. Angelil died of pharyngeal cancer in 2016, but Dion and his sons have been supporting each other ever since.

Speaking to PEOPLE in 2007, Dion said unlike children, singing never gave a real purpose to his life.

“I’m not a real singer. My life is to be a mother,” she said. “That’s what makes me the most enjoyable. That’s the greatest reward for me. I’m going to take a chance with my music. I don’t take any risks to my family.”

In May 2023, when Dion was diagnosed with Stiffperson’s syndrome, he had to cancel all tour dates until April 2024, the boys played the role of “her light.”

“Her main focus is always on performances with her sons. She is the most selfless and caring person,” an official told PEOPLE. “Celine loves her sons so much. They’re amazing. They give her all the support and love she needs.”

In June 2024, Dion told PEOPLE that her twins were training with her and the physical therapist to ensure they knew what to do when they go through an episode of “crisis.”

“There’s an emergency button at home, and they know how to put me on their side,” she said, adding, “The idea of ​​telling them and showing them wasn’t to scare them. It was to make them understand, ‘I’m your mother and that’s my fault. You’re old enough to understand that I might need your help.’

Since Dion’s diagnosis, the family has rarely appeared in public together, but in October 2025, Dion and all three of her sons appeared at Paul McCartney’s Las Vegas concert.

Here’s everything you need to know about Celine Dion’s children, René Charles, Nelson and Eddie.

René-Charles Angelil, 24 years old

Named after his father, René Charles was born on January 25, 2001 in Roxa Hatchie, Florida, weighing 6 pounds and 8 ounces. Dion and Angelil gave birth to their first child when she was 32, and he was 59 after undergoing in vitro fertilization.

Dion calls his eldest son a “miracle child.” In May 2006, when René-Charles was five years old, she revealed to people how much she loved being a mother.

“It’s relaxing to read stories, finger painting, play with Play Doe. People probably find it hard to imagine if I could lead a normal life, but I can lead a normal life,” the singer said.

After nearly 20 years of tour around the world, Dion began his first residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, which continued from March 2003 to December 2007. Dion told PEOPLE that she wants a more stable everyday life to embrace her role as a mother, “I’m a full-time mother. That’s my priority. Then I’ll go in the evening and sing a few songs.”

Her son was among the audience at one show. “That was the only time I felt nauseous before the show,” she said. “My son was there and thought he was watching me as a performer, not as a mother who reads stories at bedtime.”

Rene Charles was passionate about sports as a child. In 2015, Dion told PEOPLE that her son, who was 14 years old at the time, was “very athletic” and loved golf and hockey.

A few years later, Dion was seen cheering and dancing in the stands wearing a jersey with the words “Angelile” written on his back at his son’s hockey game in Telebon, Quebec.

After his father’s death, René-Charles played an important role in giving a heartfelt eulogy at Angelil’s funeral. In an interview with PEOPLE, Dion recalled that her son wasn’t sure if he could read the book.

To encourage him to read the memorial, she said, “‘I want you to know your dad, but I have always respected you. We respect your decisions.'” and added, “‘This is the last time you can talk to your dad. RC, it’s not for me or for the people, but for your dad.”

Now, René Charles is following in the footsteps of her parents and is pursuing a career in music. In May 2018, he released two songs on SoundCloud, reaching number one and number two on the platform’s R&B & Soul New & Hot Charts.

After the song was played, René Charles interviewed the Montreal Gazette and talked about the first moment she heard the song to her mother.

“I just wanted to keep quiet, but she liked it. I was a bit surprised at the beginning because I hadn’t heard anything from me,” he said.

In January 2021, he released an EP entitled Casino.5. After the release of the EP, Dion congratulated her son on her Instagram story, writing, “I am very proud of him. His love for him is so strong and I am deeply moved that one of his passions is also my passion.”

After her mother was diagnosed with Stiffperson’s syndrome, Rene-Charles attended the 2024 Grammy Awards with Dion, giving Taylor Swift the Album of the Year award.

Nelson and Eddie Angelil, 14 years old

After six in vitro fertilizations and one miscarriage, Dion and Angelil announced in 2010 that they would have more families. Angelil told PEOPLE that the couple is “extremely delighted” to be able to conceive twins.

She added, “Celine just wants a healthy pregnancy. She wanted one baby, so the news that they were born is a double blessing.”

Fraternal twins Eddie and Nelson were born on October 23, 2010 in West Palm Beach, Florida, and weighed 5 pounds and 4 ounces. and 5 pounds, 10 oz.

The name Eddie is named after Eddie Marnay, the producer who produced Dion’s first five albums. “He was like a father to her. Eddie has had a big impact on Celine and René’s lives,” Dion’s agent said at the time.

Meanwhile, Nelson is named after Nelson Mandela, whom Dion once met while on tour.

“Celine and Rene want their children to get inspiration from their names because they were so inspired by these guys,” her representative added.

Dion was able to distinguish between their individualities, even when their twin sons were infants.

“One person has more guts than the other. Nelson seems to have a slightly stronger personality right now. He’s tougher of the two,” she says Hello! “They are fraternal twins, but they are very similar. Nelson weighed more at birth, but the doctor said they would be the same in a week or two.”

Eddie and Nelson were only five years old when Angelil passed away. With the help of Disney’s Up, Dion introduced the news to her youngest children. She waited a few days before threw a party full of sparkling balloons for the twins ahead of her late husband’s funeral. In explaining Angelil’s death, she likens it to a balloon and tells her that Angelil “goes up” and flies off on the balloon, not returning.

“I didn’t want to scare doctors by telling them that he had passed away. That’s what I’m most proud of,” she explained to people.

Staying true to her “up” analogy, Dion, Eddie and Nelson had set up a sweet night routine to stay close to him after Angelil’s death.

“We do a little ritual where we take small photos and say hello to him,” she told the media. “Then the kids talk to him, and they write the words and put them in the balloon, and we send them into the sky.”

When Eddie and Nelson turned 10 in October 2020, Dion wrote a moving message on Instagram. She shared old photos of the two posing in autumn leaves, followed by two side-by-side frames recreating old photos of Eddie and Nelson posing in a mountain of fallen leaves.

“Nelson and Eddie, you have brought so much joy, love and laughter into our lives every day for the past decade,” Dion wrote. “You are truly proud of me, your brother, and your dad who is watching over you. Happy birthday to your beautiful sons! We love you so much.”