What happened to Carly Simon's sisters? All about her siblings as music icon's relatives die one day apart from each other

Singer and songwriter Carly Simon’s sisters Lucy and Joanna passed away this week just one day apart from each other.

While Joanna, 85, died of thyroid cancer on October 19 at the Manhattan Hospital, Lucy took her last breath on October 20 at her residence in Piedmont, New York, at the age of 82. Lucy’s family’s spokesperson revealed that she died after a long battle with breast cancer.

Lucy Simon was well-known for her compositions in musicals like The Secret Garden and Doctor Zhivago. Joanna Simon was famous for her performances in operas and concerts from 1962 to 1986. Their brother and photographer Peter died four years ago in 2018.

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How did Carly Simon’s sisters die?

According to multiple reports, Lucy had breast cancer for a long time, which eventually led to her death. However, she was not hospitalized at the time of death.

Former opera singer Joanna Simon died of thyroid cancer at Manhattan Hospital. It remains unknown exactly when she was admitted for treatment since Lucy and Joanna never spoke of their health issues to anyone, and their health history is currently unavailable.

Carly Simon also had a brother, Peter Simon, who died of cardiac arrest in 2018. He, too, was battling cancer when he died at the age of 71.

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Careers of Lucy Simon and Joanna Simon

Lucy Simon was a popular composer while Joanna was a mezzo-soprano and journalist (Image via Walter McBride/Getty Images)

Born on May 5, 1940, Lucy Simon started her career by performing with her sister Carly Simon as The Simon Sisters. The duo first appeared on the series Hootenanny in April 1963, and after signing with Kapp Records, they released two albums – Meet the Simon Sisters and Cuddlebug.

The Simon Sisters gained recognition for their song, Wynken, Blynken & Nod, which reached the 73rd position on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964. They were then signed by Columbia Records and released another album, The Simon Sisters Sing the Lobster Quadrille and Other Songs for Children.

Lucy then began pursuing her solo career, where she released two albums - Lucy Simon in 1975 and Stolen Time in 1977. She made her Broadway debut as a composer of The Secret Garden and composed a musical version of the Russian novel Doctor Zhivago.

Lucy is survived by her husband David, daughter Julie, sister Carly Simon and grandchildren Sophie, Ben, Charlie, and Evie.

The oldest of the sisters, Joanna, was born on October 20, 1936. Although she appeared regularly in operas and concerts from 1962 to 1986, she reduced her appearances in the late 1990s.

She was praised for her performance as Pantasilea in Bomarzo, which was followed by her appearances at the world premiere of Thomas Pasatieri’s Black Widow and Robert Starer’s The Last Lover.

Joanna made recordings with various orchestras throughout her career and performed on the last episode of The Ed Sullivan Show in March 1971. She then appeared on TV shows hosted by Merv Griffen, Mike Douglas, Dick Cavett, and David Frost.

In 1976, Joanna tied the knot with novelist and journalist Gerald Walker, and 10 years later, in 1986, she retired from professional singing. Gerald passed away in 2004, and Joanna was in a relationship with Walter Cronkite until his death in 2009. She is survived by her sister Carly Simon.