Carly Simon Biography

Carly Simon is an American musician, singer-songwriter, memoirist, and children’s author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Top 40 U.S. hits include “Anticipation” (No. 13), “The Right Thing to Do” (No. 17), “Haven’t Got Time for the Pain” (No. 14), “You Belong to Me” (No. 6), “Coming Around Again” (No. 18), and her four Gold-certified singles “You’re So Vain” (No. 1), “Mockingbird” (No. 5, a duet with James Taylor), “Nobody Does It Better” (No. 2) from the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, and “Jesse” (No. 11). 

Her career began in 1963 performing with her sister Lucy Simon as the Simon Sisters. The duo released three albums, starting with Meet the Simon Sisters. After Lucy left the group, Carly found great success as a solo artist with her 1971 self-titled debut album followed by a second album, Anticipation, No Secrets, Hotcakes, Playing Possum, and the compilation The Best of Carly Simon. Among her various accolades, she has won two Grammy Awards (from 14 nominations) and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for “You’re So Vain” in 2004. On November 5, 2022, Simon will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She has authored five children’s books as well as two memoirs: Boys in the Trees: A Memoir (2015) and Touched by the Sun: My Friendship with Jackie (2019). 

What is Carly Simon Known For?

• Carly Simon is a singer, songwriter, and children’s author. 
• She is known as one of the greatest singers who emerged out of the ‘golden generation’ of musicians in the 1970s and 1980s. 
• AllMusic called her “one of the quintessential singer-songwriters of the ’70s”. 
• She has a contralto vocal range and has cited Odetta as a significant influence. 

What is Carly Simon’s Ethnicity?

Carly Simon was born with the birth name of Carly Elisabeth Simon on 25 June 1943, in New York, USA. She holds American nationality and her ethnicity is multiracial. Her present age is 77 as of 2022. 

Her father, Richard Simon, a pianist by profession was also the co-founder of the famous Simon & Schuster publishing house. Her mother, Andrea Louise was a civil rights activist and singer. Her father was from a German-Jewish family, while her mother was Catholic. Her maternal grandfather, Friedrich Heinemann, was of German descent; her maternal grandmother, Ofelia Oliete, known as “Chibie”, was a Catholic originally from Cuba and was of Pardo heritage, a freed-slave descendant.

In October 2022, Simon lost both of her sisters to cancer within a day of each other. Joanna Simon died on October 19, 2022, from thyroid cancer and Lucy Simon died the following day from metastatic breast cancer. Her brother Peter Simon previously died from lung cancer on November 18, 2018. 

Everything To Know About Carly Simon’s Sister, Lucy Simon

Simon went to Riverdale Country School and spent at least four semesters at Sarah Lawrence College. She also attended the Juilliard School of Music.

How was the Career of Carly Simon?

• Carly Simon began her musical career with her sister Lucy Simon as “the Simon Sisters”. 
• Signed to Kapp Records, they made their television debut performing on Hootenanny on April 27, 1963.
• They released two albums for the label; the first being Meet the Simon Sisters (1964), which produced a minor hit for the duo with the single “Winkin’, Blinkin’ and Nod”. 
• Their second album, Cuddlebug was released in 1966. 
• The duo made one more album together, 1969’s The Simon Sisters Sing the Lobster Quadrille and Other Songs for Children. 
• Simon was then signed by Jac Holzman to Elektra Records in 1970.
• In 1971, she release her self-titled album “Carly Simon”. It was followed by her second album “Anticipation” in the same year.
• Her album “No Secrets” was released in 1972 and became a commercial success. 
• Her next album “Hotcakes” was released in 1974.
• She then released other albums Playing Possum (1975), Another Passenger (1976), Boys in the Trees (1978), and Spy (1979) over the decade.
• During the early 1980s, she released three albums, Come Upstairs (1980), Torch (1981), and Hello Big Man (1983).
• Her successful album “Coming around Again” was released in 1987.
• She made her debut as an author with her first children’s book “Amy the Dancing Bear” in 1989 which was followed by “The Boy of the Bells” (1990) and “The Fisherman’s Song” (1991). Her fourth book “The Nighttime Chauffeur” was published in 1993.
• In 2000, she released her 18th studio album entitled “Bedroom Tapes” (2000) followed by “Christmas is Almost Here” (2002).
• Some of her other albums during that decade were “Moonlight Serenade” (2005), “Into white” (2007), “Never been Gone” (2009). 
• On 2nd March 2010, BBC Radio 2 broadcast An Evening With Carly Simon, where she performed live for the first time in the UK. 
• She also appeared on various UK television shows to promote the album, including The One Show and BBC Breakfast.
• On November 24, 2015, she published Boys in the Trees: A Memoir, an autobiographical book focusing on her childhood and her early life, from age five until the year 1983.
• On October 22, 2019, Simon released a second memoir titled Touched by the Sun: My Friendship with Jackie. 
• On February 2, 2022, she was announced as one of the 17 performers nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2022.
• On May 4, 2022, she was announced as one of the seven artists in the performer category being inducted, set to take place on November 5, 2022. 

Carly Simon Awards and Achievements

• Won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1972
• Won her three prestigious awards for her song ‘Let the River Run’ (1988): Grammy Award for ‘Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television’ (1990); Academy Award for ‘Best Song’ (1989); and Golden Globe Award for ‘Best Original Song’ (1989).
• Received the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 2004 for her 1972 song ‘You’re So Vain.’ 
• Won Boston Music Awards for her work in “Like a River” in 1995, in 1995 under the category Outstanding Female Vocalist and in 2020 under the category of Female Vocalist of the Year.

Who is Carly Simon married to?

Carly Simon was a married man previously. As of now, it seems she is in a relationship. In 2008, Simon was reportedly dating Richard Koehler, a surgeon specializing in minimally invasive laparoscopy. The pair were reported to have been dating as early as 2006. In 2015, the two were reportedly living together on Martha’s Vineyard. Her sexual orientation is straight. 

In the 1960s, she was briefly engaged to British writer William Donaldson. She then married fellow singer-songwriter James Taylor on November 3, 1972. They had two children, Sarah “Sally” Maria Taylor (born January 7, 1974) and Benjamin “Ben” Simon Taylor (born January 22, 1977), both of whom are musicians and political activists. Simon and Taylor divorced in 1983. She was engaged to musician Russ Kunkel, from 1985 to 1986. Next, she married James Hart, a writer, poet, and businessman, on December 23, 1987. The couple divorced in 2007. 

How Rich is Carly Simon?

Carly Simon is a singer, songwriter, and children’s author. The net worth of Carly is estimated to have $80 Million as of 2022. Her main source of wealth comes from the music industry and she is living a lavish lifestyle at present. Her present annual salary is in millions of dollars. She lives in a luxurious house and she does have a collection of cars.

Her property spans more than 25 secluded acres and is worth around $5 million today based on comparable sales. Taylor still owns his property, just a 25-minute drive across the island. She bought two units in the West Village which were combined into one. She sold this property in 2013 for $2.3 million. She had listed it for $3.8 million at one point. 

Carly Simon Height and Weight

Carly Simon stands tall at the height of 5 feet 10 inches or 1.7 m. Her body weight consists of 58 Kg or 128 pounds. Her body type is slim. She has blonde hair color with blue pair of eyes. She has a petite frame with a radiant face and an affable smile. 

Previously, she underwent a mastectomy, chemotherapy, and reconstructive surgery for breast cancer between 1997 and 1998. There had been a lump in her breast for several years, but her doctors had advised against surgery. Simon later recounted: “Then one doctor said, ‘You know what, I’d rather see it in a jar than in your breast.'” She also said that she felt “a little angry with myself” that she did not insist on taking it out sooner. Her surgery came at the same time as the death of her long-time friend Linda McCartney, who had also struggled with breast cancer. She described McCartney’s death as having emotionally “crushed” her.