The Grammy-winning artist behind “You’re So Vain” disclosed Monday, July 27, that she is living with Parkinson’s disease and has undergone treatment for basal cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer that required facial surgery. Carly Simon, 83, opened up in a written statement addressing years of absence from the public eye with unflinching honesty about her health struggles.
Simon is preparing to release her first original studio album since 2008, titled “Comes in Waves,” a project that has given her creative focus during a difficult period. The singer-songwriter explained that skin cancer treatment altered her appearance, making public appearances increasingly difficult and leaving her feeling self-conscious. Combined with mobility issues and the Parkinson’s diagnosis, these challenges led her to withdraw from view, she said.
The neurological disorder affects Simon differently day-to-day. She described how the condition sometimes leaves her exhausted and unable to get moving, while on better days she can still think, work and create. The unpredictability of symptoms, she wrote, means the illness does not consult her calendar before determining what kind of day awaits.
Physical Decline Preceded the Answer
The artist did not specify when doctors delivered the diagnosis. Her physical troubles began with arthritis affecting both knees and one hip, conditions that necessitated three joint replacements. Even after those surgeries, her mobility continued deteriorating. She recounted difficulty rising from low seating without assistance and periods when walking required considerable help.
Recognizing that something more serious was at play, Simon sought comprehensive testing at the Mayo Clinic, where physicians confirmed Parkinson’s. The progressive neurological condition, which currently has no cure according to the Mayo Clinic, typically manifests through tremors, stiffness, slowed movement, balance impairment and speech changes. While medications can manage certain symptoms, they cannot stop the disease’s advance.
Treatment has begun, Simon said, and medication provides relief from stiffness and other manifestations. Yet the disorder’s severity fluctuates unpredictably. Some days exhaust her completely, while others allow space for work and creativity. There is no predictable pattern, she noted—just an ongoing negotiation with the shifting terrain of her condition.
Emotional Territory of the Disease
Simon took care to explain the psychological reach of Parkinson’s, which can trigger anxiety, depression, exhaustion and apathy. That final symptom, she wrote, proved the most difficult to convey. She compared it to lying motionless like a starfish drying in the sun, with no internal impulse urging her to rise, read, sing or call anyone. It resembles neither sadness nor laziness, she explained, but rather as if the part of her brain responsible for issuing invitations to life had temporarily lost track of its guest list.
The artist noted she has always been harder on her own appearance than outsiders might imagine—a confession paired with characteristic irony and a knowing reference to the song that cemented her fame.
She acknowledged joining a group of prominent figures managing Parkinson’s publicly, including “Back to the Future” star Michael J. Fox, who has become a prominent advocate for research and awareness.
A Voice That Defined Confessional Pop
The Martha’s Vineyard resident emerged as one of the defining voices of the 1970s, merging literary lyricism with emotional frankness. Her career has earned multiple Grammy Awards, and she also composed “Let the River Run.” The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted her in 2022. She shares two children—Sally, 52, and Ben, 49—with former husband, musician James Taylor.
In her statement, Simon said it took time to understand her condition, adapt to its demands and determine how much to disclose. The letter’s tone—by turns clinical, wry and unsparing—resembles a personal reckoning rather than standard celebrity disclosure.
Simon offered no romanticized vision of what lies ahead. She characterized Parkinson’s as difficult, frustrating and at times frightening, refusing to present it as any sort of gift. Yet she framed her announcement not as a goodbye but as an honest report of where she stands—still writing, singing, imagining, laughing, worrying, remembering and, occasionally, she added, getting trapped in an overstuffed chair.
