Céline Dion has revealed that she experienced symptoms of stiff-person syndrome for around 17 years before receiving a diagnosis for the rare neurological condition, having kept the health struggle hidden from fans for most of that time. The disclosure, made in a new interview, sheds further light on the singer's prolonged health battle, which forced her to postpone and eventually cancel tour dates and step back from public life in recent years.

The 58-year-old made the revelation while featured on the cover of Harper's Bazaar's Global Icons issue, describing how she managed symptoms privately long before going public with her diagnosis. Stiff-person syndrome is a rare autoimmune neurological disorder that causes progressive muscle stiffness and spasms, and Dion first confirmed she had the condition in 2022, since when she has spoken periodically about her recovery and ongoing treatment.