Céline Dion is among a small group of celebrities who publicly discussed their struggle with infertility in the early 2000s. Along with women like Brooke Shields and Joan Lunden, she was open about formerly taboo topics like IVF and miscarriage.
Dion helped make fertility issues part of the cultural conversation.
The prolific singer is the mother of three grown sons now, but it took years — and multiple setbacks — to grow her family. She touches upon those difficult times in her intimate documentary, “I Am: Celine Dion,” which will be available to stream on Prime Video on Tuesday, June 25.
“Celine Dion’s openness about her fertility struggles was incredibly courageous, especially given the societal attitudes back then.”
Rachel Goldberg, therapist who specializes in infertility.
According to the World Health Organization, 1 in 6 people are affected by infertility globally. While common now, IVF has been controversial in the past: After it was first introduced in 1978, 60% of Americans said they supported it, according to a Gallup survey; in May 2024, Gallup reported, that number was up to 82%. The Catholic church still opposes IVF.
When celebrities like Dion speak out, it can “increase awareness and understanding, even helping to prompt more women to be proactive and freeze their eggs,” says Rachel Goldberg, a licensed therapist who specializes in infertility. “It has also helped validate the intensity of their emotions, provided inspiration and hope for a positive outcome, reduced self-blame and encouraged them to open up and isolate less.”
Dion's honesty in discussing her challenges, disappointment and determination may have helped begin to normalize the conversation for couples trying to conceive today.
Getting — and staying — pregnant
Dion, who was the youngest of 14 children in her family, gave birth to son René-Charles on Jan. 25, 2001 after undergoing one round of IVF.
After completing her Las Vegas residency in 2007, she decided to try IVF again. Dion announced her pregnancy, but she miscarried shortly after.
After five attempts at IVF, Dion announced a third pregnancy in May 2010, according to CNN. Her twins, Nelson and Eddy, were born Oct. 23, 2010 when the singer was 42. But even that pregnancy was tinged with sadness.
Dion revealed that at the beginning of her pregnancy, she had been carrying triplets, but the heart of the third fetus stopped beating soon after she realized that she was expecting. “He chose to let go to give space to his brothers to grow,” she said at the time.
Dion shares her children with husband René Angélil, who died in 2016 after a throat cancer diagnosis. The couple had been married for more than two decades.
When Oprah Winfrey asked Dion about her miscarriage in 2010, Dion said, “It’s life, you know? A lot of people are going through this but it’s not being told.”
When Winfrey asked if these tough moments make a marriage stronger, Dion responded, “I don’t think a child, a pregnancy, should make anything stronger or weaker. A child is not there to fix a marriage, bring happiness ... let’s not put pressure on children.”
She continued, “I’ll be the obvious one to tell you I’m pregnant. And if not, I’m the luckiest artist, especially wife, and mother of a wonderful son.”
Sharing her struggle
In 2010, the same year Dion spoke out about infertility, NBC News reported that 61% of infertility patients were hiding their struggle from family and friends.
“For someone who always imagined getting pregnant easily when the time came, infertility can come as a sudden shock, leading them to question their past actions and future prospects,” says Goldberg. “Celine Dion’s openness about her fertility struggles was incredibly courageous, especially given the societal attitudes and lack of social media support back then.”
Today there may be more openness and discussion around infertility issues in general, but when it becomes a personal issue, the dialogue can change dramatically.
Dr. Alice Domar, health psychologist and chief compassion officer at Inception Fertility, says people are being more honest about infertility diagnoses, but she thinks that the topic hasn't been normalized enough.
Domar notes that First Lady Betty Ford and Second Lady Happy Rockefeller were diagnosed with breast cancer in 1974, “and now you see every football player in October wearing pink shoes.” When celebrities started talking about their infertility treatment, IVF and surrogacy, “I thought it would go the same way,” she shrugs.
But people often struggle with infertility in secret, she says.
“Even though people in this country are becoming much more aware of how many millions of babies and children and young adults in this country came from IVF, it still shocks me how many of my patients don’t want to tell anyone because they feel such shame and guilt,” she says.
“Infertility is a disease,” says Domar. “It’s insanely common. There’s so much support available,” she adds — but people have to open themselves up to get help.
Accepting support
Celebrity success stories can give people solace and encouragement.
However, celebrity success stories can also be misleading, Goldberg notes, because they suggest that "pregnancy is possible in one’s late 40s and 50s, which is still a rarity."
The average American doesn’t necessarily have the same resources and support that a celebrity does. (IVF is expensive.) And even if they do, they may still go through the process of grieving “in the form of lost dreams, lost time, loss of finances, loss of normalcy and loss of potential babies in the form of miscarriages,” says Goldberg.
