[1] She was the daughter of Pascal Velonjara, a parliamentarian during the French colonial period and founder of the Parti des déshérités de Madagascar (PADESM).
[3] In 1964, she married Didier Ratsiraka, a young naval officer, at a Catholic ceremony presided over by Father Armand Gaëtan Razafindratandra.
During the rule of her husband from 1975 until 1993, Céline Ratsiraka became an influential figure in Malagasy politics and the regime's AREMA party as first lady and wife of the president.
[4][5] In April 2013, the Ratsirakas returned to Madagascar after living in exile in France for eleven years so her husband could contest the 2013 presidential election.
On 22 March 2021, both Céline Ratsiraka and her husband were admitted to Soavinandriana Military Hospital (CENHOSOA) in Antananarivo, for treatment of a "small flu", according to their relatives.