Rene Angelil Dies from Throat Cancer Aged 73

Celine Dion’s husband and former manager Rene Angelil has died at the age of 73, the singer has announced.

Rene Angelil, who Celine Dion married in 1994 and with whom she has three children, died at home in Las Vegas from throat cancer.

Celine Dion took two career breaks to look after Rene Angelil after he was diagnosed with throat cancer, first in 2000.

Rene Angelil was born in Montreal in 1942. After managing groups in Canada, he was approached to manage Celine Dion by her parents when she was aged 12.

In August 2015, Celine Dion told USA Today she was preparing for her husband’s death.

“When it hits me, it’s going to hit me,” the singer said.

“But my biggest job is to tell my husband, we’re fine. I’ll take care of our kids. You’ll watch us from another spot.”

According to the Montreal Gazette, Rene Angelil mortgaged his house to finance Celine Dion’s first album.

Celine Dion has recorded 25 studio albums, and is the fifth-best-paid recording artist in the world, with a value of some $630 million.

In 1999, her song My Heart Will Go On, from the soundtrack of the Titanic movie, won two Grammy awards.

She has been a regular performer at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas since 2003.

Celine Dion returned to performing in 2015 after a year-long hiatus to look after Rene Angelil.

Rene Angelil stepped down as Celine Dion’s manager in 2014.