Carly Simon reveals Parkinson's disease diagnosis

Singer Carly Simon has revealed she has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and cancer.

The 83-year-old You're So Vain singer said in a statement that her most recent absence from the spotlight has been due to her ongoing health issues.

Ms Simon said: "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.

"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."

She added: "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."

Ms Simon, who lives on a 25-acre Martha's Vineyard estate in Massachusetts, said her health problems started with arthritis in both knees and one hip.

She said she eventually had all three joints replaced with "delicate bouquets of metal and plastic".

The Grammy-award-winning musician said after three replacement surgeries, she assumed her struggle walking was "simply an unfortunate and rather ironic part of the recovery process".

She said, however, that her mobility continued to worsen.

She said: "I had trouble standing up from low chairs and deep couches without someone offering me an arm. Overstuffed furniture became my enemy. Once seated, I could feel as though I had been swallowed by the chair and might remain there permanently, like a guest who had badly overstayed her welcome.

"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."

Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative condition that causes parts of the brain to become progressively damaged over the years.

In the UK, the number of people diagnosed with Parkinson's is around 166,000, according to the Parkinson's UK charity.

The figure is expected to reach 173,000 by 2030, as the population grows and ages.

Read more from Sky News
World Cup critics 'consumed by hate', Infantino says
Police appeal for man dressed as lobster after 'assault' at darts championship

The star said she started treatment, including taking medication to help with stiffness and other symptoms.

Describing how it affects her day-to-day life, Ms Simons said that the "apathy is particularly strange".

She said: "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."

She has two children, Sally and Ben Taylor, aged 52 and 49, from her relationship with her first husband, fellow singer-songwriter James Taylor, who she was married to from 1972 until divorcing in 1983.

The artist said she had also received treatment for basal cell carcinoma, a common type of cancer that starts in the top layer of skin, on her face.

She said it was removed but the surgery affected her appearance made her more self-conscious about being seen in public.

She said: "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."

Ms Simon, who is also a children's author, said that "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".

Despite health issues relating to the condition, she said she has not stopped working and began recording a new album, Comes in Waves, in the middle of it all.

She continued: "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.

"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. Their love and patience have carried me through days when my own reserves were not enough."

Ms Simon rose to fame in the 1960s and achieved international stardom in the 1970s with hit singles including Anticipation and Nobody Does It Better, the theme song to the 1977 film, The Spy Who Loved Me.

Her third album, No Secrets, contained the hit song You're So Vain, a song about a self-absorbed lover, prompting speculation who she was singing about. Ms Simon once disclosed the song was about three different men, one of who she named as Hollywood star Warren Beatty.

Comes In Waves, Ms Simon's first album in almost 15 years, is set to be released on 14 August.

(c) Sky News 2026: Carly Simon reveals Parkinson's disease diagnosis