Carly Simon (born Carly Elisabeth Simon on June 25, 1943, in New York City) grew up in a privileged, culturally rich, intellectually stimulating, yet emotionally complex household during the 1940s and 1950s. She was the third of four children born to Richard L. Simon (co-founder of the major publishing house Simon & Schuster) and Andrea Heinemann Simon (a civil rights activist and singer). Her father came from a German-Jewish family and was a classical pianist who frequently played Chopin and Beethoven at home. Her mother was Catholic, with a diverse heritage that included German, Cuban, and Pardo (freed-slave descendant) roots; DNA testing later showed Simon with about 10% African and 2% Native American ancestry via her maternal grandmother.
The family lived primarily in the affluent Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx, with additional homes in Stamford, Connecticut, and later connections to Martha’s Vineyard. They also had an apartment in New York City. The household was wealthy and well-connected, hosting notable figures such as musicians (e.g., Benny Goodman), writers, Albert Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, and others. Jackie Robinson played backyard softball games at their Stamford home, and Pete Seeger was reportedly her kindergarten music teacher.
Siblings included older sisters Joanna (opera singer and TV personality) and Lucy (singer/songwriter), and younger brother Peter (photographer). All the children were encouraged in self-expression and the arts; the sisters later performed together as the Simon Sisters. The family was raised nominally Catholic.
Music was central to daily life. Her father’s piano playing and mother’s singing filled the home, alongside show tunes, jazz, classical, pop, and folk. Simon’s uncle (in the basement) taught her early songs on the ukulele. This environment fostered creativity, and the children often sang together. Simon has described the surface as happy, with lots of music, singing, and playing.
Despite the privileges, her childhood had difficulties. Simon began stuttering severely when she was eight years old. A psychiatrist tried unsuccessfully to cure her stuttering. Instead, Simon turned to singing and songwriting. “I felt so strangulated talking that I did the natural thing, which is to write songs, because I could sing without stammering, as all stammerers can.” She also dealt with dyslexia, which she believes positively influenced her songwriting by allowing ideas to flow more intuitively.
Simon has publicly stated that at age seven, a family friend in his teens sexually assaulted her, an experience she described as heinous that affected her views on sex for a long time. Her father’s health declined after being edged out of Simon & Schuster (sold in the 1950s); he suffered heart attacks, retired in 1957, and became emotionally withdrawn (near catatonic at times) before dying in 1960. Simon felt she was less favored than her sisters and tried to win approval by being the family clown.
Simon attended the private Riverdale Country School. She briefly attended Sarah Lawrence College (where she and Lucy performed as the Simon Sisters) and also studied at Juilliard. Her performing start with her sister in the early 1960s built on childhood musical foundations.
Overall, her childhood blended privilege, intellectual and artistic stimulation, famous connections, and a musical household with personal struggles. These experiences deeply informed her confessional songwriting style later on. Her memoir Boys in the Trees provides the most detailed personal account.
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