Carly Simon Reveals Parkinson's Diagnosis, Says She's "Not Stopped Working"

Image from Ultimate Classic Rock

By Conner Tighe

Carly Simon has broken her public silence with news that reframes the last several years of her life. The 83-year-old singer-songwriter, best known for "You're So Vain" and "Nobody Does It Better," revealed this week that she has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, and that she was separately treated for skin cancer during the same stretch of time.

The Carly Simon Parkinson's Diagnosis: Years in the Making

Simon said her health troubles didn't begin with Parkinson's. She had been dealing with worsening arthritis in both knees and one hip, which led to a trio of joint replacement surgeries. The surgeries didn't resolve her mobility issues, and at points she said she couldn't walk without significant help. That decline prompted a deeper evaluation.

"My family and I knew that something more was going on," Simon said in her statement, adding that an extensive workup at the Mayo Clinic led to the Parkinson's diagnosis. She's since started medication aimed at managing stiffness and other symptoms.

The Parts of the Disease People Don't See

Much of Simon's statement focused on the invisible side of Parkinson's, the anxiety, depression, exhaustion, and apathy that came with the diagnosis. She described the apathy in particular as difficult to put into words, likening it to a part of her brain that used to send out invitations to participate in life losing track of the guest list.

She was also treated for basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer, on her face around the same time. The surgery to remove it changed her appearance in ways that made her more self-conscious about being seen publicly, compounding the reasons she stepped back from view.

Explaining the Long Silence

Fans and followers had noticed Simon's absence and reached out asking where she'd been. Her statement was in part an answer to that. Between the mobility problems, the Parkinson's diagnosis, the cancer surgery, and the emotional weight of all of it, she said retreating from public life felt like the most manageable response available to her.

Still Making Music

Despite everything, Simon says she never stopped creating. She's been recording a new album, "Comes in Waves," due out August 14, and she credits the work with giving her days structure during a period that otherwise had little. The songs, she said, include fragments that had been waiting on her for years, some finally finding their place now.

It's a fitting throughline for an artist whose career already spans more than five decades, two Grammy wins, an Academy Award for "Let the River Run," and a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nomination. Parkinson's hasn't ended that story. By her own account, it's just changed the shape of how she's telling it.

The Carly Simon Parkinson's diagnosis puts her among an estimated 1.1 million people in the U.S. living with the progressive neurological disorder, which primarily impacts movement through the loss of dopamine-producing brain cells. There's no cure, but treatment options include medication and, in some cases, surgically implanted devices to manage tremors.