Even a star with the high status of Celine Dion sometimes needs an extra boost, it seems.
Because the singer needed a helping hand as she teetered in her car door in a pair of sky-high heels to wave to fans in Paris.
The Canadian superstar, 58, appeared to be standing unassisted as she smiled and raised a gloved hand. But behind her, out of view of onlookers, a member of her security team sat a hand on her back to steady her.
Mrs Dion looked elegant in a £2,590 Bottega Veneta charcoal wool midi dress, with dramatic draping gathered by a brown leather belt at the waist. She completed the ensemble with oversized sunglasses, long brown leather gloves, knee-high heeled boots and a black handbag.
The singer is in the French capital for a five-week residency – her first series of concerts since being forced to cancel the remainder of her 2023 Courage world tour.
She revealed in December 2022 that she had been diagnosed with stiff person syndrome (SPS), which causes muscle stiffness and painful spasms.
Celine Dion needed a helping hand as she greeted fans in Paris as a member of her team held her up while wearing a pair of sky-high heels
The Canadian superstar, 58, appeared to stand tall unaided as she smiled and raised a gloved hand to admirers gathered nearby
But behind her was a member of her security team who placed another against her back to hold her in place
At its worst, the debilitating condition left her unable to walk properly or use her singing voice as she once had.
But four years after receiving the diagnosis, the My Heart Will Go On star has said she is fighting fit for her return.
The singer previously said she had been doing 90-minute Pilates sessions three times a week and fortnightly ballet classes, as well as physical and vocal therapy and immunotherapy.
“It’s been so long, I’d like to give them something to show them how much I’ve missed them,” she told Harper’s Bazaar when she finally returned to tour.
The last time she performed on stage was at the closing ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, after having to cancel her Courage world tour last year.
Candid documentary I Am: Celine Dion, also released in 2024, showed an unfiltered glimpse into her life with the condition.
In a harrowing ten-minute scene, she was seen writhing in pain after suffering a muscle cramp, causing her to scream in pain.
Ms Dion smiled broadly and raised a gloved hand to admirers gathered nearby before stepping out of the vehicle
She looked elegant in a £2,590 charcoal wool midi dress from Bottega Veneta, with dramatic draping gathered by a brown leather belt at the waist.
“They paid for tickets. They bought my records. They gave me that luxury. So the least I can do is tell them I’m still alive,” she said about giving her viewers access to her private life.
As for why she still has such a legion of devoted fans, she added: “It must be because I’m an open book. I’m honest, and it’s not always pretty.
“Sometimes they’re happy things, sometimes they’re sad things, but that’s called life.”
She says she prefers to describe her diagnosis as a “progressive condition” rather than a “disease” because that is reminiscent of a scene from Home Alone in which Jeff McCallister tells his brother, “Kevin, you are such a disease.”
