Roots in Perche, cousin of Beyoncé and Madonna… The surprises of Céline Dion’s genealogy

If we know Céline Dion’s francophilia, we are perhaps less familiar with the origin of her French roots. Indeed, the 58-year-old Quebec singer, who is preparing to return to the stage from September 12 to October 17 at Paris La Défense Arena for sixteen exceptional concerts, is descended from French pioneers who settled in Canada in the 17th century from the other side of the Atlantic.

According to the specialized site Geneastar, which reconstructed the genealogy of the singer of “S’il suffisait d’aimer” is one of the descendants of Zacharie Cloutier, often cited as one of the ancestors having left the greatest number of descendants in the French-speaking region.

A “Guyon” who became “Dion”

The man, born around 1590 and originally from Mortagne-au-Perche (Orne), had emigrated with his wife Xainte Dupont and their six children in 1634. They then took up residence in Château-Richer, a town on the banks of the Saint-Laurent near Quebec. Fourteen generations later, here is Céline Dion, born in Charlemagne, a town about thirty kilometers north of Montreal.

The surname Dion is not the one the star should have: originally, the paternal ancestor from whom she inherited her surname was Jean Guyon, originally from Tourouvre, in Orne, and born in 1592. He was also one of the emigrants to New France in 1634. It was towards the end of the 18th century that a change took place, with the birth of Joseph Dion in 1781, son of Joseph Guyon. These spelling changes were common at the time, with the evolution over the years and the errors that were sometimes made in civil registrations.

Le Perche, cradle of Quebecers

Perche is considered one of the main centers of emigration to Quebec in the 17th century. It is from this natural region straddling Normandy, Centre-Val de Loire and Pays de la Loire that several thousand French-speaking Canadians now descend. Both of Céline Dion’s parents also come from families of Perche descendants.

Beyond Perche, other branches of the tree of the star expected in Paris La Défense Arena lead towards France: we find ancestors in Rouen and Dieppe in Seine-Maritime, but also on the Atlantic coast from where many settlers left, such as Niort (Deux-Sèvres), La Rochelle (Charente-Maritime) or Fontenay-le-Comte (Vendée).

Internationally famous cousins, from Jim Carrey to Beyoncé

Even more surprising when we delve into Céline Dion’s genealogy are the family ties she has with many international stars. It is established that she shares common roots with other Quebec singers like Diane Tell, Isabelle Boulay and Garou, since they have the same ancestors in the 9th and 10th generation.

Even superstar Beyoncé is a 10th cousin of Céline Dion, since the American singer is also a twelfth and eleventh generation descendant of Zacharie Cloutier through her mother. So there is a bit of Percheron blood in Beyoncé, absolutely.

Links can also be made with other Quebec and American celebrities of French origins: Madonna (8th to 9th cousins), Angelina Jolie (same link as Beyoncé), Matt LeBlanc, Xavier Dolan, Denis Villeneuve and even Jim Carrey.