Céline Dion’s documentary, I Am: Celine Dion, has been finally released, offering a rare and candid look into her daily struggles. In one particularly vulnerable moment, Dion shares her experience of suffering a terrifying seizure that lasted several minutes.
© I Am: Celine Dion / Sony Music and co-producers
The documentary captures a tense moment as Céline Dion undergoes a medical evaluation. The Grammy-winning artist has been struggling with spasms linked to stiff person syndrome, a rare and progressive neurological disorder.
© I Am: Celine Dion / Sony Music and co-producers
Lying down on a massage table, 56-year-old Dion experiences spasms. Her doctor, Lobo, cautions that these spasms could “lead to a crisis.”
Soon after, the icon begins to experience a severe seizure. Her doctor swiftly calls for another medical team member to give her a medication used to treat nervous system disorders.
© I Am: Celine Dion / Sony Music and co-producers
At that moment, Dion can be heard groaning in pain as she shakes uncontrollably while lying face down. In a startling moment, Dion appears wide-eyed and unable to move independently.
Despite her condition, she remains conscious and manages to signal her awareness by weakly squeezing one of the medical expert’s hands.
© I Am: Celine Dion / Sony Music and co-producers
Following the administration of two doses of a nasal spray, Dion starts to recover from the seizure. The doctor mentions that if she hadn’t responded, they would have needed to rush her to the hospital.
As the My Heart Will Go On singer seems to regain her composure, she confesses to everyone in the room that experiences like these leave her feeling “so embarrassed.”
© I Am: Celine Dion / Sony Music and co-producers
Describing her horrible experience, the singer says, “I don’t know how to express it, like, it’s just … you know, like, to not have control of yourself?” Her doctor, Lobo, explains that the likely trigger for the seizure was Dion’s recent session in the studio where she had been singing, which overstimulated her brain.
Dion replied, “Well, what am I gonna do? If I can’t get stimulated by what I love, and then I’m gonna go onstage and, like, you’re gonna put the pulse oximeter on me, and you’re gonna turn me on my back?”
© I Am: Celine Dion / Sony Music and co-producers
Céline revealed her stiff person syndrome diagnosis back in December 2022. The star had to cancel tour dates in Europe, postpone her Las Vegas residency scheduled for October 2021, and later cancel her North American tour.
We admire Céline Dion’s determination and strength in the face of the formidable challenges she has encountered. Her life has been a journey fraught with difficulties from a young age, and here are seven major struggles that have shaped her into the inspirational icon she is today.
Preview photo credit I Am: Celine Dion / Sony Music and co-producers
Their Love Story Started with Hate Letters—See How This Interracial Couple is Winning Today
Actor Leslie Uggams has had an exciting career in both theater and film.
Even with a remarkable career spanning seven decades, the singer and actress from Harlem is best known for her role in the *Deadpool* series.
However, her marriage to White Australian Grahame Pratt in 1965 challenged expectations for interracial relationships, making her life story worthy of a movie.
In 1953, Leslie, a talented singer, recorded a song for MGM when she was just 10 years old. Her aunt, soprano Eloise Uggams, recommended that she attend the famous Julliard School of Music in New York and the Professional Children’s School of New York.
But her career didn’t stop after her musical success; in 1969, she hosted *The Leslie Uggams Show,* the first network variety show hosted by a Black person since *The Nat King Cole Show.*
However, Leslie got to know and fell in love with actor Grahame Pratt behind the scenes. During one of her famous tours in Australia, the pair reconnected in Sydney after first meeting as students at the Professional Children’s School in New York.
Leslie was aware of the challenges of dating a white man because she had dated one in her youth and her aunt had discouraged her from thinking about a future with him. Leslie shared with Ebony in 1967, “I remember the shock I felt once when I was dating a white boy.”
He sent me a color photo of himself. I showed it to my aunt. He was a young, attractive man with nice hair. I thought he was very good-looking. But my aunt lectured me after she saw the picture. “Well, I guess he’s alright,” she said, “but only on dates, huh, honey? When you’re ready to settle down, you’ll marry a nice [Black] fella, won’t you?”
Leslie said that after their lucky meeting, she kept visiting Grahame.
“At just 21 years old, it was surprising that I started to fall in love with him.”
It would be a full year before she saw him again after she left Australia.
Leslie was worried about how her family would react and what would happen if Grahame moved to the U.S. for her job, but despite her worries, they had fallen in love. When they had been engaged for five months, Grahame visited her in New York.
“I wanted to know if my family would truly accept Grahame and not just tolerate him, knowing their views on mixed marriages,” she said.
Leslie didn’t have to worry because Grahame was Australian.
“Many white Americans feel awkward about their situation, but he didn’t.” He got along well with my friends, so he easily fit in with them. And both the men and women liked him.
While living in New York, Leslie said she received hate mail because of their marriage, even though they didn’t face the same racial issues as many others in the country.
In an interview with PEOPLE, Leslie said about her marriage, “It wasn’t as difficult as I expected. I think it’s because Grahame wasn’t a white man in America.” Naturally, they did receive some negative mail.
Leslie shared, “I sometimes get anonymous letters about being married to a white man when I go on tour in the United States. I remember getting one, of all places, in Detroit.” It was addressed to “The Little Negro Entertainer.” Those letters were painful to read and often used that term.
Grahame took on the role of Leslie’s manager, and the couple had two daughters, Danielle in 1970 and Justice in 1976.
Leslie got the lead role in the miniseries Roots in 1977, a year after their second child was born. For that role, she was nominated for an Emmy for her character Kizzy.
Two years later, she played Lillian Rogers Parks in the miniseries Backstairs at the White House, earning another Emmy nomination for Best Actress.
In 1983, she won a Daytime Emmy Award for hosting the NBC game show Fantasy, and in 1996 she played Rose Keefer on All My Children.
Leslie has also made appearances on shows like Family Guy, I Spy, Hollywood Squares, The Muppet Show, The Love Boat, and Magnum P.I.
After fifty-five years of marriage and a granddaughter named Cassidy, Leslie and Grahame are still happily together.
“We have a lot of fun together, but it’s not always sunshine and roses,” Leslie said about their happy marriage. “We enjoy being together.”
Their love has stood the test of time and defied expectations. They support each other because they are loyal to one another and have always helped each other.
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