'You're So Vain' Singer Carly Simon, 83, Announces Parkinson's Disease and Cancer Diagnosis After Years-long Absence — 'I Have Not Stopped Living'
Carly Simon stepped away from the public.
July 27 2026, Published 11:37 a.m. ET
Carly Simon won't let a devastating diagnosis prevent her from living her life – she's just opted to do it away from the limelight after many years of public drama.
The You're So Vain singer was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and cancer, RadarOnline.com has learned. While processing the news, Simon, 83, stepped away from the public.
Carly Simon Reveals Difficult Parkinson's Disease Diagnosis
Simon acknowledged people wondered about her absence.
In a statement to Page Six, Simon confessed, "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."
Her absence was largely due to a need to "understand the diagnosis, to adjust to it, and to decide how much I wanted to say about it publicly."
Simon Shares How the Disease Impacts Her
She faces stiff muscles and exhaustion.
Simon further explained more about how "Parkinson's is different for everyone, and it can be unpredictable."
According to Mayo Clinic, "Parkinson's disease is a movement disorder of the nervous system that worsens over time. The nervous system is a network of nerve cells that controls many parts of the body, including movement."
For Simon, this manifests in exhaustion, and on some days she struggles to move at all. She added, "On others, it gives me a little more room to move, think, work, and feel like myself."
Singer Undergoes Treatment
Simon discovered Parkinson's after surgeries for arthritis.
She first noticed the symptoms after going through three joint replacement surgeries due to arthritis. As she recovered, Simon noticed she struggled to stand without assistance, and she needed "considerable help" to walk.
Simon decided to go through an "extensive evaluation" at a clinic in Minnesota where she received her diagnosis.
Simon added, "I do not consider Parkinson’s a gift or a blessing. It is neither. It is difficult, frustrating, and sometimes frightening. I am still learning how to live with it and how to accept it without feeling that I have surrendered something essential."
Parkinson's, which also afflicted Julie Andrews, does not have a cure. However, it can be treated, and doctors prescribed the songstress medication to help with her stiffness and other problems.
She added, "There is no tidy or predictable schedule to the illness. It does not consult my calendar before deciding what kind of day I am going to have."
She Continues to Make Music
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Simon's new album is set for next month.
Explaining her decision to step away from the public, she said she chose to do so alongside a surgery she received to remove basal cell carcinoma. The surgery resulted in insecurities about her appearance, pushing her to stay behind closed doors.
She added, "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."
However, even away from the public, Simon confessed music was a core part of her life. In Simon's changing world, music was a constant. “It reminded me that illness can change your life without becoming the whole of your life," she said.
While she continues to create, Simon admitted she "moves more slowly" and relies often on those around her. However, Simon also has accepted "that every day will look a little different."
“But I am still very much here," she concluded.
While Simon decided to take her personal life out of the spotlight, her music is still very much alive. Her new album, Come in Waves, is set for release on August 14, 2026.
