Carly Simon Net Worth

What Is Carly Simon's Net Worth?

Carly Simon is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and author who has a net worth of $80 million.

Carly Simon emerged as one of the defining singer-songwriters of the 1970s, combining deeply personal lyrics with a distinctive contralto voice and sophisticated pop arrangements. She has recorded more than 20 studio albums and scored 13 Top 40 singles, including "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be," "Anticipation," "You're So Vain," "Mockingbird," "Haven't Got Time for the Pain," "Nobody Does It Better," "You Belong to Me," and "Coming Around Again."

Her signature song, "You're So Vain," topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1973 and inspired decades of speculation about the identity of its famously self-absorbed subject. Simon also recorded "Nobody Does It Better," the Oscar-nominated theme from the James Bond film "The Spy Who Loved Me," and wrote and performed "Let the River Run" for "Working Girl." The latter made her the first artist to win an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Grammy for a song written and performed entirely by one person.

Simon has also published memoirs and children's books, and she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.

Early Life

Carly Elisabeth Simon was born on June 25, 1945, in New York City. Her father, Richard L. Simon, was a pianist and the co-founder of the publishing company Simon & Schuster. Her mother, Andrea Heinemann Simon, was a singer and civil rights activist.

Carly grew up in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx with her older sisters, Joanna and Lucy, and her younger brother, Peter. Music was a constant presence in the Simon household, and the children were encouraged to sing and play instruments.

Simon developed a severe stutter when she was approximately eight years old. She discovered that singing allowed her to express herself without the speech difficulties she experienced in conversation, and she began writing songs as another way of communicating.

After graduating from Riverdale Country School, Simon briefly attended Sarah Lawrence College before leaving to pursue music professionally.

The Simon Sisters

Simon began her recording career as one half of the Simon Sisters, a folk duo she formed with her older sister Lucy. The sisters performed in Greenwich Village clubs and signed with Kapp Records in 1964.

Their debut album, "Meet the Simon Sisters," included "Winkin', Blinkin' and Nod," a musical adaptation of the Eugene Field poem. The song became a modest hit and earned the sisters national television appearances.

They released a second album, "Cuddlebug," later that year. Their final project together, "The Simon Sisters Sing the Lobster Quadrille and Other Songs for Children," arrived in 1969. Lucy eventually left the duo to marry and start a family, prompting Carly to pursue a solo career.

Solo Breakthrough

Simon signed with Elektra Records and released her self-titled debut album in 1971. The album produced "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be," a stark examination of marriage and domestic life that contrasted sharply with conventional romantic pop songs.

The single reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned Simon a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Her debut album also led to her winning the Grammy Award for Best New Artist.

Simon released her second album, "Anticipation," in November 1971. She wrote the title song while waiting for singer Cat Stevens to arrive for a date. "Anticipation" reached #13 on the Hot 100 and later became familiar to another generation through its use in Heinz ketchup commercials.

The album also included "Legend in Your Own Time," which Simon wrote about her future husband, James Taylor.

"You're So Vain" and "No Secrets"

Simon achieved the greatest commercial success of her career with her third album, "No Secrets," released in 1972. Produced by Richard Perry, the album topped the Billboard 200 for five consecutive weeks.

Its lead single, "You're So Vain," became Simon's signature song. The recording featured uncredited backing vocals from Mick Jagger and spent three weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also topped the Adult Contemporary chart and sold more than one million copies in the United States.

The song's lyrics describe a narcissistic man who assumes that every song is about him. Simon declined for decades to identify the subject, allowing speculation to center on men including Jagger, James Taylor, David Geffen, and Warren Beatty. She eventually confirmed that the second verse concerned Beatty, while indicating that the other verses were inspired by different men.

"You're So Vain" earned Grammy nominations for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. "No Secrets" also produced the hit "The Right Thing to Do."

"Hotcakes," "Mockingbird," and Continued Success

Simon followed "No Secrets" with "Hotcakes" in 1974. The album reached #3 on the Billboard 200 and featured "Haven't Got Time for the Pain" and "Mockingbird," a duet with James Taylor based on the 1963 hit by Inez and Charlie Foxx.

"Mockingbird" became one of Simon and Taylor's best-known collaborations and reached the Top 5. Simon also contributed backing vocals to several of Taylor's recordings during their marriage.

Her subsequent albums included "Playing Possum," "Another Passenger," and "Boys in the Trees." The cover of "Playing Possum," which featured Simon wearing a black negligee and boots, became one of the most memorable album images of the 1970s.

"Boys in the Trees," released in 1978, included "You Belong to Me," which Simon co-wrote with Michael McDonald. The song became another Top 10 hit and earned her a Grammy nomination.

"Nobody Does It Better"

In 1977, Simon recorded "Nobody Does It Better" as the theme for the James Bond film "The Spy Who Loved Me." Written by Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager, it was the first Bond theme since "Dr. No" whose title did not match the movie.

The song reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained there for three weeks. It earned Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Original Song, as well as a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

"Nobody Does It Better" became one of the most acclaimed Bond themes and remained closely associated with Simon throughout her career.

(Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

1980s Career and "Coming Around Again"

Simon continued releasing albums throughout the 1980s, including "Come Upstairs," "Torch," "Hello Big Man," and "Spoiled Girl." Although her commercial momentum slowed, she remained an active recording artist and songwriter.

She experienced a major resurgence with "Coming Around Again," written for the 1986 film "Heartburn." The song became a Top 20 hit and was later paired with "Itsy Bitsy Spider" in a medley that became a popular part of Simon's live performances.

Her 1987 album "Coming Around Again" was certified platinum and also included "Give Me All Night," "The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of," and a recording of "As Time Goes By."

"Let the River Run" and Film Music

Simon wrote and performed "Let the River Run" for the 1988 film "Working Girl," starring Melanie Griffith, Harrison Ford, and Sigourney Weaver.

The song won the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Original Song, followed by the Grammy Award for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television. Simon became the first artist to win all three honors for a song written and performed entirely by a single person.

Her other film work included songs for "This Is My Life," "Postcards from the Edge," "The Karate Kid Part II," and "Marvin's Room." She also composed the score for the 1993 opera "Romulus Hunt."

Later Albums, Memoirs, and Children's Books

Simon's later recordings included "My Romance," "Have You Seen Me Lately," "Letters Never Sent," "Film Noir," "The Bedroom Tapes," "Moonlight Serenade," "Into White," and "Never Been Gone."

She also became a children's author, publishing books including "Amy the Dancing Bear," "The Boy of the Bells," "The Fisherman's Song," "The Nighttime Chauffeur," and "Midnight Farm." Several of the books incorporated songs or musical recordings.

In 2015, Simon published "Boys in the Trees: A Memoir," which explored her childhood, rise to fame, marriage to James Taylor, and relationships with other prominent figures. The book was followed in 2019 by "Touched by the Sun: My Friendship with Jackie," about her close relationship with former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

Awards and Legacy

Simon has recorded more than 20 studio albums and placed 24 singles on the Billboard Hot 100. Her honors include two Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and multiple lifetime achievement awards.

She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1994, and "You're So Vain" entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2004. Berklee College of Music awarded her an honorary doctorate in 1998.

Simon was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. Her influence can be heard in generations of singer-songwriters who followed her example of transforming private relationships, insecurities, and emotional conflicts into sophisticated popular music.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Personal Life

Carly married James Taylor in 1972. They had two children, Sally Taylor and Ben Taylor, both of whom became musicians. Carly and James divorced in 1983.

In 1987, Simon married writer and businessman James Hart. Their marriage ended in divorce in 2007. She later entered a relationship with surgeon Richard Koehler.

Simon was diagnosed with breast cancer in the late 1990s and underwent a mastectomy, reconstructive surgery, and chemotherapy.

Real Estate

Carly began spending time on Martha's Vineyard in the early 1970s with James Taylor, who owned a small cabin on approximately 145 acres. She fell in love with the island and later acquired a property of her own.

Simon's Martha's Vineyard estate spans more than 25 secluded acres and includes multiple structures surrounded by woods and open land. Based on comparable properties, the estate is worth around $5 million. Taylor continues to own his property approximately 25 minutes away.

Simon was famously rejected by the co-op board at New York City's Dakota apartment building. She later purchased two units in the West Village and combined them into a single residence. After initially listing the property for $3.8 million, she sold it in 2013 for $2.3 million.

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