Legendary Singer Carly Simon Reveals Battle With Parkinson’s Disease, Cancer Diagnosis
on Jul 27, 2026
Carly Simon has opened up about what has been happening in her personal life over the past few years.
Best known for her 1972 classic “You’re So Vain,” Simon is a Grammy Award winner, Academy Award winner and Golden Globe winner. Some of her most popular hits include “Anticipation,” “Nobody Does It Better,” “Mockingbird,” a duet with her former husband James Taylor, and “Coming Around Again.”
Carly Simon Opens Up About Her Many Health Challenges
The 83-year-old revealed in a statement on Monday (July 27) that she has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. In the same statement, Simon also shared that she underwent surgery for basal cell carcinoma, the most common form of skin cancer, PEOPLE reported.
“So many people have written to me, kindly wondering about my relative silence, asking how I am and what I have been doing. The truth is, I’ve been learning how to live with Parkinson’s disease,” Simon explains.
She then gave some insight as to how the disease has impacted her everyday life.
“Parkinson’s is different for everyone, and it can be unpredictable. Some days I’m so tired I can’t get the day moving at all. On others, it gives me a little more room to move, think, work, and feel like myself,” Simon shared.
The singer then shared that she has had three replacement surgeries in her knees and hip, but her mobility continued to decline. She said that eventually she could not even stand on her own.
“Eventually, there were periods when I could not walk without considerable help. My family and I knew that something more was going on. After an extensive evaluation at the Mayo Clinic, I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s.“
Simon then shared that around the same time, she was also diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer.
“The cancer was removed, but the surgery affected my appearance and made me more self-conscious about being seen in public. I have always been more critical of my appearance than anyone else could possibly imagine (check out the irony of having written “You’re So Vain.”), and this gave my inner critic quite a lot of new material,” Simon said.
She shared that the combination of these life-altering diagnoses forced her to remain out of the spotlight for a while. However, Simon told fans she had “not stopped living” or working. In fact, she has even recorded a new album titled Comes in Waves.
“Working on the music gave shape to days that did not always have much shape. It gave me somewhere to go without having to leave the room. It reminded me that illness can change your life without becoming the whole of your life,” she continued.
Simon encouraged fans that she is still very much present, and thanked everyone for their genuine concern for the singer. She remains living on Martha’s Vineyard and has two children, Sally, 52, and Ben, 49, with her first husband James Taylor.
You can read Carly Simon’s full statement below.
