Singer Celine Dion Scores A Baby Boy
Singer Celine Dion gave birth to a boy early Thursday, three weeks ahead of her due date, and mother and son were both reported "in perfect health."
A statement from the office of Francine Chaloult, Dion's spokeswoman, said the baby — named Rene Charles — weighed 6 pounds, 8 ounces and was born in Florida. It was the first child for Dion and her husband-manager, Rene Angelil.
"It is extraordinary. She is doing great," one of Dion's sisters, Claudette, told Canada's French-language RDI all-news channel.
Claude Lemay, Dion's musical director, said he spoke briefly to Angelil, who described his newborn son as a "beautiful baby."
"You could hear the joy in his voice," Lemay told Radio-Canada's all-news channel, RDI.
One of the singer's sisters, Linda, and Angelil were at the birth.
Dion, recently named favorite adult contemporary artist at the American Music Awards show, announced her pregnancy last June after taking a break from performing due to difficulty in conceiving.
She had been undergoing fertility treatments in New York, forcing her to turn down an offer to sing at the Montreal funeral of Canadian hockey legend Maurice Richard last year.
Her pregnancy was achieved through in vitro fertilization.
In December, Dion revealed she had a second embryo stored at a New York fertility clinic.
"It doesn't mean they're identical twins but they were conceived at the same time," the Quebec pop diva said in a television interview.
Asked whether she planned more children, Dion replied: "Another child? Yes, because we already have another child waiting for us in New York, making a stopover at this time. I surely couldn't live knowing that child is there."
The Quebec-born star is famous for such hits as My Heart Will Go On from the movie Titanic.
Dion and Angelil were married in Montreal in 1994. He has managed Dion's career since she began singing as a teenager in the town of Charlemagne near Montreal. Angelil has suffered from throat cancer, which is now in remission.
Last month, Dion said in a 90-minute interview in French on Quebec's TVA television network that she felt emotionally fulfilled by her pregnancy.
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