Celine Dion’s husband Rene Angelil, who discovered the Canadian pop diva and long managed her career, died Thursday aged 73 after a struggle with cancer.

Dion announced his passing in a Twitter message, saying: “Rene Angelil passed away this morning at his home in Las Vegas after a long and courageous battle against cancer.”

A spokesman for the singer, Marc Olivier, said more information would be given in the coming days, but for now the family wished to be left to mourn in private.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted his condolences to Dion and to Angelil’s six children, including three from a previous marriage.

Born in Montreal to Lebanese-Syrian immigrants, Angelil started out in music dabbling in yeye — French 60s music — before trying his hand at comedy, and finally settling on a career in music management.

As a talent agent, he signed one of the biggest names in Quebec music, Ginette Reno, but the arrangement ended abruptly in 1981, leaving Angelil destitute and desperate.

At age 12, Dion had recorded a demo tape with her mother and sent it to Angelil. He was so struck by her voice that he signed her to an exclusive management contract — mortgaging his house to finance her debut album.

Credit: Yahoo