OZ.VGI.CO.ID - Legendary singer-songwriter Carly Simon, 83, publicly disclosed on July 27 that she has been living with Parkinson's disease, in a deeply personal statement obtained by PEOPLE. In the same statement, the iconic musician — best known for her 1972 hit "You're So Vain" — also revealed that she underwent surgery to treat basal cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer, during the same period she was managing her Parkinson's diagnosis and treatment.
The disclosure answers years of public curiosity about Simon's near-total withdrawal from the public eye. "So many people have written to me, kindly wondering about my relative silence, asking how I am and what I have been doing," she wrote. "The truth is, I've been learning how to live with Parkinson's disease."
How the Diagnosis Came to Light
Simon explained that her health journey began not with a Parkinson's diagnosis, but with arthritis in both knees and one hip, which eventually required her to undergo three separate joint replacement surgeries. After those procedures, she initially attributed her continued difficulty walking to post-surgical recovery — a reasonable assumption, she noted, though ultimately an incorrect one.
Her mobility continued to deteriorate. She struggled to rise from low chairs and deep couches without assistance, and there were periods when she could not walk without considerable help. "After an extensive evaluation at the Mayo Clinic, I was diagnosed with Parkinson's," she wrote, noting that her family had sensed something more serious was at play long before that formal evaluation.
Living With Parkinson's: Beyond the Physical Symptoms
Simon's statement offered a candid and nuanced account of what living with Parkinson's disease actually looks like day to day. While the condition is widely associated with tremors, balance problems, and slowed movement — as defined by the Mayo Clinic — Simon emphasized that the disease extends well beyond physical limitations.
"Parkinson's is usually associated with movement, tremors, and balance, but it can affect much more than the body," she wrote. "It can bring anxiety, depression, exhaustion, and apathy." She described the apathy in particularly vivid terms, likening it to lying motionless like "a starfish drying in the sun" — not from sadness or laziness, but from a neurological misfiring that temporarily disconnects a person from any impulse to engage with life.
She began treatment that included medication to manage stiffness and other symptoms, though she stressed that the illness operates on its own unpredictable schedule. "There is no tidy or predictable schedule to the illness," she noted. "It does not consult my calendar before deciding what kind of day I am going to have."
A Second Diagnosis: Basal Cell Carcinoma
Compounding her Parkinson's diagnosis, Simon also underwent treatment for basal cell carcinoma on her face during this same period. The cancer was successfully removed, but the surgery left visible effects on her appearance — something she acknowledged with a touch of self-aware irony, given that she is the artist who wrote "You're So Vain."
"The surgery affected my appearance and made me more self-conscious about being seen in public," she wrote. "I have always been more critical of my appearance than anyone else could possibly imagine, and this gave my inner critic quite a lot of new material." Between her mobility challenges, the Parkinson's diagnosis, the cancer surgery, and the emotional weight of it all, withdrawing from public life felt like the only manageable response.
Music as Medicine: The Making of 'Comes in Waves'
Despite her health battles, Simon made clear that she never stopped creating. Even during the most difficult stretches of her illness, she began recording Comes in Waves, her first original full-length album since 2008 — an 18-year gap that will end with the album's release on August 14. "Music has always known when to arrive," she wrote. "It has rescued me more times than I can count. It is like a cat or dog that quietly appears beside you when it senses you are not quite yourself."
The album draws on songs and song fragments she had been storing for years — melodies, verses, and ideas tucked away for some future moment when she would have the focus and time to complete them. Working on the music, she explained, gave structure to days that would otherwise have had none, offering a destination without requiring her to leave the room. "It reminded me that illness can change your life without becoming the whole of your life," she wrote.
A Storied Career and a Long Road to This Moment
Born in Manhattan, Simon first emerged as a major artistic force with her 1971 self-titled debut album, which earned her the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. Her trajectory accelerated with the 1972 release of No Secrets, the album that introduced "You're So Vain" to the world, and again in 1977 when she wrote and recorded "Nobody Does It Better" as the theme song for the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me.
She was officially inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in November 2022, though she was absent from the Los Angeles induction ceremony — an absence that came just weeks after her two sisters, Joanna and Lucy, died of cancer a single day apart. At the ceremony, Sara Bareilles and Olivia Rodrigo honored her legacy with performances of "Nobody Does It Better" and "You're So Vain," respectively. Simon has also survived breast cancer, having been diagnosed in 1997.
Personal Life and Recent Public Appearances
Simon lives on Martha's Vineyard and shares two adult children — daughter Sally, 52, and son Ben, 49 — with her first husband, fellow musician James Taylor, 78. Her public profile has been notably sparse in recent years; one of her last public appearances was in October 2019, when she visited SiriusXM Studios in New York City to promote her memoir Touched by the Sun: My Friendship with Jackie, which chronicled her relationship with former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Her last public performance preceded that, in March 2018, at the 31st Annual Tibet House US Benefit Concert & Gala at Carnegie Hall.
Simon is far from alone among prominent musicians who have navigated Parkinson's in the public eye. Neil Diamond, Ozzy Osbourne, and Linda Ronstadt have each spoken openly about their experiences with the progressive neurological disorder. Actor Michael J. Fox, diagnosed in the 1990s, has arguably done the most to raise mainstream awareness of the disease through his Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.
A Message of Resilience
Simon closed her statement with characteristic honesty, refusing to frame her illness as a gift or a silver lining. "I do not consider Parkinson's a gift or a blessing. It is neither. It is difficult, frustrating, and sometimes frightening," she wrote. But she was equally clear that she has not been defined or defeated by it.
"I am still writing, singing, imagining, laughing, worrying, remembering, and occasionally getting trapped in an overstuffed chair," she wrote. "These days I move more slowly, I lean on others more than I once did, and I have learned to accept that every day will look a little different. But I am still very much here."
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
When did Carly Simon reveal her Parkinson's disease diagnosis?
Carly Simon revealed her Parkinson's disease diagnosis on July 27, in a personal statement obtained by PEOPLE magazine.
What type of cancer did Carly Simon have?
Simon was treated for basal cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer, on her face. The cancer was successfully removed through surgery, though the procedure affected her appearance.
What is Carly Simon's new album and when does it release?
Carly Simon's new album is called 'Comes in Waves.' It is her first original full-length album since 2008, and it is scheduled for release on August 14.
How did Carly Simon's Parkinson's disease first manifest?
Simon's symptoms began as arthritis in both knees and one hip, leading to three joint replacement surgeries. Her continued mobility problems — including difficulty standing from chairs and walking without help — ultimately led to an extensive evaluation at the Mayo Clinic, where she was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
Does Parkinson's disease only affect movement?
No. According to the Mayo Clinic and as described by Simon herself, Parkinson's disease can also cause anxiety, depression, exhaustion, and apathy — in addition to its well-known physical symptoms like tremors, stiffness, and balance problems.
Is Carly Simon in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
Yes. Carly Simon was officially inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in November 2022. She was not present at the Los Angeles induction ceremony, which took place weeks after the deaths of her two sisters, Joanna and Lucy, who died of cancer a day apart.
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