Céline Dion Is Documenting Her Journey With Stiff-Person Syndrome
“I’m working hard every day, but I have to admit it’s a struggle,” she says in the trailer for I Am: Celine Dion.
We’ve gotten several health updates from Céline Dion over the past couple of years, but she’s about to share even more with us in an upcoming documentary acquired by Amazon MGM Studios. Directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Irene Taylor, I Am: Celine Dion will explore how stiff-person syndrome, a rare neurological disorder, has affected her career. The emotional trailer gives a glimpse at just how the disorder has taken its toll. Archival footage of a joyful Dion singing in recording studios and onstage show the generational talent in her element. Those exuberant images are juxtaposed with a new reality of enduring medication and physical therapy to perform once more. “It’s not hard to do a show, you know; it’s hard to cancel a show,” Dion says in the trailer. “I’m working hard every day, but I have to admit it’s a struggle. I miss it so much. The people, I miss them. If I can’t run, I’ll walk. If I can’t walk, I’ll crawl. I won’t stop.”
Dion previously canceled her Las Vegas residency in 2021 due to “severe and persistent” muscle spasms. The following year, she revealed her stiff-person syndrome diagnosis and ultimately canceled dates on her Courage world tour in order to focus on recovery. In December 2023, Dion’s sister shared that the singer doesn’t “have control over her muscles,” but still dreams of returning to the stage someday.
“This last couple of years has been such a challenge for me, the journey from discovering my condition to learning how to live with and manage it, but not to let it define me,” Dion said in a statement confirming the documentary in January. “As the road to resuming my performing career continues, I have realized how much I have missed it, of being able to see my fans. During this absence, I decided I wanted to document this part of my life, to try to raise awareness of this little-known condition, to help others who share this diagnosis.” The feature-length documentary arrives on Prime Video June 25.
This post has been updated.
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