Cécile Dionne, one of the world-famous Dionne quintuplets, died earlier this week at the age of 91 following a long illness, a family spokesperson confirmed Friday.
Cécile and her sisters became an instant global sensation from the moment of their birth in the Ontario community of Corbeil on May 28, 1934 as they became the first quintuplets known to survive past infancy.
Carlo Tarini, a spokesperson of the family, confirmed the death and told The Canadian Press that Cécile died early Monday morning.
Get daily National news
Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
“She lived her life with quiet dignity, exemplary discretion, and gentle humour, despite the hardships of a childhood lived in the public eye,” reads an obituary Tarini shared.
At the peak of their Depression-era fame, the quintuplets were hailed as a salve to the gloom of financial austerity — but the sisters said the attention came at a personal cost.
Cécile and her sister Annette, who is now the last remaining quintuplet, spoke to The Canadian Press in 2019 and said parents should view childhood as a precious time that shouldn’t be exploited for profit.
When the quintuplets were only months old, the Ontario government took them away from their cash-strapped parents, who already had five children before their brood doubled overnight.
The government then installed them across the street from their childhood home in a nursery-style exhibition called Quintland, where millions of tourists lined up to observe the girls through one-way glass.
Cécile frequently spoke out on the harmful effects of living a childhood on display and was the most vocal advocate asking for compensation from the Ontario government, Tarini said in an interview Friday.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
