Carly Simon has Parkinson’s disease and underwent surgery for basal cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer.
The “You’re So Vain” singer told People magazine in a statement published July 27 why she had recently stayed out of the spotlight.
“It has taken me some time to understand the diagnosis, to adjust to it, and to decide how much I wanted to say about it publicly,” the 83-year-old told the outlet. “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.”
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“The problems began with arthritis in both knees and one hip,” the star shared. “I eventually had all three joints replaced, out with the old and in with delicate bouquets of metal and plastic. After three replacement surgeries, I assumed my difficulty walking was simply an unfortunate and rather ironic part of the recovery process.”
According to Simon, her mobility continued to worsen. She struggled to stand from “low chairs and deep couches” without someone offering help. “Overstuffed furniture became my enemy,” she recalled. There were periods when she couldn’t walk “without considerable help.”
Simon knew something was wrong.
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It wasn’t until she underwent an extensive evaluation at the Mayo Clinic that Simon was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. She soon began treatment to help manage stiffness and other symptoms.
“Parkinson’s is usually associated with movement, tremors and balance, but it can affect much more than the body,” Simon explained.
“It can bring anxiety, depression, exhaustion and apathy. The apathy is particularly strange. You can find yourself lying there like a starfish drying in the sun, arms pointing in all directions, while nothing inside is telling you to get up, read, watch, write, sing, call someone or do much of anything at all. … It is not simply sadness or laziness. It is as though the part of the brain that sends out invitations to participate in life has temporarily misplaced the guest list.”
During this period, Simon was treated for basal cell carcinoma on her face. While surgeons removed the skin cancer, the procedure left her self-conscious about her appearance and reluctant to be 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 wrote.
“Between my mobility issues, the Parkinson’s diagnosis, the surgery and the emotional effects of it all, withdrawing from public view was the most palatable reaction,” Simon said. “If a person is allowed to hibernate during both winter and summer, then I have become an all-season bear.”
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Despite her personal struggles, Simon stressed that she has “not stopped living, and I have not stopped working.” She quietly worked on a new album, “Comes in Waves,” noting that music “has rescued me more times than I can count.”
“Working on the music gave shape to days that did not always have much shape,” Simon said. “… It reminded me that illness can change your life without becoming the whole of your life.”
“I do not consider Parkinson’s a gift or a blessing,” she said. “It is neither. It is difficult, frustrating and sometimes frightening. I am still learning how to live with it and now how to accept it without feeling that I have surrendered something essential. I am still writing, singing, imagining, laughing, worrying, remembering and occasionally getting trapped in an overstuffed chair.”
“I am deeply grateful to my children, my family, my friends, my caregivers and the medical professionals who have helped me through this,” Simon said. “Their love and patience have carried me through days when my own reserves were not enough. I wanted to share this now because so many people have reached out with genuine concern. I am touched by that concern, even when I have not known how to respond.”
“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.”
People reported that “Comes in Waves” is Simon’s first full-length album since 2008.
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Simon, who lives on Martha’s Vineyard, made one of her last public appearances in 2019 when she visited SiriusXM Studios in New York City to promote her memoir, “Touched by the Sun: My Friendship with Jackie,” which chronicles her once-close bond with former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
People reported that Simon’s last public performance was in March 2018 at the 31st Annual Tibet House U.S. Benefit Concert & Gala at Carnegie Hall.
Although Simon was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in November 2022, she did not attend the ceremony in Los Angeles. The event came weeks after her sisters, Joanna and Lucy Simon, died of cancer one day apart. People noted that Simon survived breast cancer after being diagnosed in 1997.
According to the Mayo Clinic, Parkinson’s disease is a nervous system disorder that affects movement. Symptoms can include tremors, balance problems, stiffness, slowed movement and slurred speech. Although there is no cure for Parkinson’s disease, medications and, in some cases, surgery can help manage symptoms.
Michael J. Fox, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991, was one of the first high-profile figures to raise public awareness of the disease. The “Back to the Future” star later founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
Simon rose to fame with her 1971 self-titled debut album. The Grammy winner is best known for the 1972 hit “You’re So Vain” and the James Bond theme “Nobody Does It Better,” recorded for the 1977 film “The Spy Who Loved Me,” starring Roger Moore as 007.
