Celine Dion's husband René Angélil dies at age of 73 after long battle with cancer

The husband of award-winning singer Celine Dion has died at the age of73 after "a long and courageous battle" against cancer.

A statement posted in French on Dion's official Facebook page said René Angélil died on Thursday at their home in Las Vegas.

The statement reads: "René Angélil, 73, passed away this morning at his home in Las Vegas after a long and courageous battle against cancer.

"The family requests that their privacy be respected at the moment.

"Other information will be provided in the next few days."

Angélil first met the French-Canadian singer when she was 12 years old after she sent the entertainment manager a recorded song she had written with her mother.

He agreed to manage Dion in exchange for full control over her career and was said to have mortgaged his home to finance her first album.

When Dion was 18, Angélil instructed the French-speaking singer to remake her image by changing her hair and capping her teeth, and register in English school so she could record songs for the US market.

The couple later married in 1994 at a lavish wedding in Montreal's Notre Dame Basilica.

Angélil was first diagnosed in 1999. Last year Dion told Good Morning America he had to eat with the help of a feeding tube three times a day, and was not able to talk or swallow.