07/27/2026
Carly Simon is speaking candidly about her personal health challenges.
The “You’re So Vain” singer, 83, revealed on July 27 that she has Parkinson’s disease in a statement obtained by PEOPLE; within the same message, the legendary performer also shared that she underwent surgery for basal cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer, while dealing with her Parkinson’s diagnosis and treatment.
So many people have reached out to me with kindness, wondering about my long silence, asking how I’ve been and what I’ve been doing. The truth is, I’ve been learning how to live with Parkinson’s disease.
It has taken me a while to come to terms with the diagnosis, adapt to it, and decide how much I wanted to share publicly. Parkinson’s affects everyone differently, and it can be unpredictable. Some days I’m so exhausted I can barely get the day started. Other days, it gives me a little more freedom to move, think, create, and feel like myself.
The first signs came with arthritis in both knees and one hip. I eventually had all three joints replaced, saying goodbye to the old and welcoming delicate bouquets of metal and plastic. After three replacement surgeries, I believed my trouble walking was simply an unfortunate and somewhat ironic part of the healing process.
But my mobility kept getting worse. I struggled to stand from low chairs and deep couches without someone offering me a hand. Plush furniture became my greatest enemy. Once sitting down, I often felt as though the chair had swallowed me whole and I might stay there forever, like a visitor who had terribly outstayed her welcome.
Eventually, there were stretches when I couldn’t walk without significant assistance. My family and I knew something more serious was happening. After a thorough evaluation at the Mayo Clinic, I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s.
I started treatment, including medication to help with stiffness and other symptoms. There is no neat or predictable routine to this illness. It doesn’t check my calendar before deciding what kind of day I’m going to have.
Parkinson’s is commonly linked to movement, tremors, and balance, but it can affect much more than the body. It can bring anxiety, depression, exhaustion, and apathy. The apathy is especially unusual. You may find yourself lying there like a starfish drying beneath the sun, arms stretched in every direction, while nothing inside urges you to stand, read, watch, write, sing, call someone, or do much of anything at all.
That has been one of the most difficult things to describe. It isn’t simply sadness or laziness. It feels as though the part of the brain that sends invitations to participate in life has temporarily lost the guest list.During this same time, I was also treated for basal cell carcinoma on my face. The cancer was removed, but the surgery changed my appearance and made me feel more self-conscious about being seen publicly. I have always judged my appearance more harshly than anyone could ever imagine (consider the irony of writing “You’re So Vain.”), and this gave my inner critic plenty of fresh material.
Between my mobility struggles, the Parkinson’s diagnosis, the surgery, and the emotional impact of everything, stepping away from public life felt like the easiest response. If someone is allowed to hibernate through both winter and summer, then I’ve become an all-season bear.
But I have not stopped living, and I have not stopped working.
In the middle of everything, I began recording a new album, Comes in Waves. That still feels mysterious to me. Music has always known exactly when to appear. It has rescued me more times than I can count. It is like a cat or dog quietly appearing beside you whenever it senses you’re not quite yourself.
The album contains songs and pieces of songs that had been waiting for me, some for years. There were melodies, verses, and ideas written down and tucked away for an unknown future when I would finally have the time and focus to complete them.
Apparently, that future is now.
Working on the music gave purpose to days that didn’t always have much purpose. It gave me somewhere to go without ever leaving the room. It reminded me that illness can change your life without becoming your entire life.
I do not see Parkinson’s as a gift or a blessing. It is neither. It is challenging, frustrating, and sometimes frightening. I am still learning how to live with it and how to accept it without feeling that I have lost something essential.
I am still writing, singing, imagining, laughing, worrying, remembering, and occasionally getting stuck in an overstuffed chair.
I am deeply thankful to my children, my family, my friends, my caregivers, and the medical professionals who have supported me through this. Their love and patience have carried me through days when my own strength was not enough.
I wanted to share this now because so many people have reached out with sincere concern. I am deeply touched by that concern, even when I haven’t known how to answer.
These days I move more slowly, I depend 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.
With love, Carly
The health update comes as Simon prepares to release Comes in Waves, her first original full-length album since 2008.
Simon — who lives on Martha’s Vineyard — has two children, daughter Sally, 52, and son Ben, 49, with her first husband, fellow musician James Taylor, 78.
The famously private icon has mostly stayed away from the spotlight in recent years. One of her latest public appearances came in October 2019, when she visited SiriusXM Studios in New York City to promote her memoir Touched by the Sun: My Friendship with Jackie, where she reflected on her relationship with former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Her last public performance was in March the previous year at the 31st Annual Tibet House US Benefit Concert & Gala at Carnegie Hall.Simon officially entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in November 2022; however, she did not attend the induction ceremony in Los Angeles, which happened only weeks after her two sisters, Joanna and Lucy, passed away from cancer one day apart. (Simon herself survived breast cancer after being diagnosed in 1997.) During the ceremony, Sara Bareilles and Olivia Rodrigo paid tribute by performing “Nobody Does It Better” and “You’re So Vain,” respectively.
Parkinson’s is a nervous system condition that affects movement, according to the Mayo Clinic; symptoms may include tremors, stiffness, slowed movement, and balance problems, while it can also lead to slurred speech. Although there is no cure for Parkinson’s, medications and sometimes surgery can help manage its symptoms.
Back to the Future star Michael J. Fox, who was diagnosed in the 1990s, became one of the first celebrities to raise mainstream awareness about the disease through his Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. Other musicians, including Neil Diamond, Ozzy Osbourne, and Linda Ronstadt, have also spoken openly about living with the progressive condition.
Born in Manhattan, Simon found fame with the 1971 release of her self-titled debut solo album, earning the Best New Artist Grammy. Her success reached even greater heights the following year with her No Secrets album, featuring her iconic hit “You’re So Vain,” before rising again with her Bond theme “Nobody Does It Better,” which she wrote and recorded for 1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me.
