Céline Dion opens up about health struggle in new documentary

“I wasn’t ready to say anything before, but I’m ready now,” she says.

Published May 23, 2024 • Last updated 4 hours ago • 1 minute read

Céline Dion cries as she says she misses the fans during the documentary I Am: Celine Dion. Photo by Vermilion Films

A year and a half after announcing she had a rare neurological disorder that prevented her from performing, Céline Dion opens up in a new documentary about her life and how much she misses the stage.

“My voice is the conductor of my life,” she says in the trailer for I Am: Celine Dion, which dropped Thursday. “I need my instrument.”

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The documentary comes out on Amazon Prime Video June 25. It promises “a raw and honest behind-the-scenes look at the iconic superstar’s struggle with a life-altering illness” and serves as “a love letter to her fans.”

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It’s directed by Irene Taylor, whose previous works include Hear and Now, a documentary about her deaf parents, and the documentary short The Final Inch, about the effort to eradicate polio, which was nominated for an Academy Award.

Dion discovered she had Moersch-Woltman syndrome, also known as stiff person syndrome, in 2022. It is an autoimmune illness in which a patient’s immune system causes a dysfunction of the interneurons in the spinal cord. It has no known cure. It is believed to affect one or two out of every million people.

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The documentary follows Dion, 56, as she tours her monstrous wardrobe and shoe collection, spends time with her children, and goes through treatments including physiotherapy and medication, interspersed with old clips of Dion performing.

“I wasn’t ready to say anything before, but I’m ready now,” Dion says directly into the camera.

Fans reacted strongly to parts of the trailer where Dion gets emotional.

“I miss it so much, the people,” she says through tears at one point.

Despite the struggles, Dion remains defiant about some day returning to the stage.

“If I can’t run, I’ll walk, if I can’t walk, I’ll crawl, and I won’t stop,” she says.

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