In a small, crowded house in Quebec, a baby girl was born as the 14th child in her family. Money was so tight that her mother had to lay her down to sleep in a drawer because there was no room for a crib.
Growing up, she shared a bed with three or four of her siblings every night. Meals were not always guaranteed, and when the fridge was empty, her mother came up with a clever trick. She would bake a simple pie using carrots when there was nothing else, and never told the children the truth. The kids thought it was a treat, unaware their mother was praying they wouldn’t notice how little food was really left.
Despite the hardship, music filled the house. Her parents and siblings formed a family band, and she joined in from the time she could barely walk. At just 12 years old, she wrote her very first song with her mother and brother.
A cassette tape of that song reached a music manager, who was moved to tears by her voice. He believed in her so much that he mortgaged his own home just to fund her very first record.
That little girl from the crowded house in Quebec was Céline Dion. She grew up to become one of the best-selling music artists in history.
