What happened to Joni Mitchell? Mysterious illness, long-lost daughter and quitting music

Joni Mitchell will make her triumphant return to the stage after decades away from the spotlight. (Image: Getty)

Joni Mitchell is poised to grace the stage at two back-to-back shows at the famous Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles this weekend, marking her first headline concert in over two decades.

The legendary singer-songwriter, 80, celebrated for timeless classics such as Both Sides Now and Big Yellow Taxi, has been out of the spotlight for years after quitting making music and battling debilitating health issues.

Joni's health woes span a lifetime of battling different conditions, from childhood polio to the mysterious Morgellons disease.

In her youth, Mitchell contracted polio and was hospitalised for months. Overcoming expectations, nine-year-old Joni astonished everyone by self-rehabilitating and learning to walk again.

Mitchell recounted to Cheat Sheet: "I just kept working my legs, working my legs, and then one day I said to them, 'I want to try and walk'.

“So they lifted me up and I put my arms on these chrome bars, and I pulled myself along to the end. I turned myself around, I came back, and then I said, 'Now can I go home?'"

Joni Mitchell overcame polio aged nine. (Image: Getty)

The frightening ordeal was a pivotal moment for Mitchell, inspiring her to pursue her artistic ambitions.

Later in life, Mitchell confronted another severe health issue when she suffered a near-fatal brain aneurysm in 2015.

Her recovery process was intensive as she had to re-learn basic skills, such as walking, speaking, and playing the guitar.

Reflecting on her experiences during a candid interview with CBS Mornings in 2022, Joni spoke about the challenges of playing guitar publicly after many years.

She admitted: "I'm learning. I'm looking at videos that are on the net, to see where to put my fingers. It's amazing... when you have an aneurysm, you don't know how to get into a chair. You don't know how to get out of bed. You have to learn all these things again. You're going back to infancy, almost."

Joni had to re-learn how to walk, speak and play guitar after suffering an aneurysm in 2015. (Image: Getty)

On top of this, Mitchell has been bravely coping with a rare and poorly understood condition known as Morgellons disease.

The skin condition is described by patients as having biting and stinging sensations under the skin.

However, the mysterious condition has raised eyebrows among the medical community, with some medics dismissing it as imaginary.

Mitchell told the Los Angeles Times in 2010: "I have a weird, incurable disease that seems like it's from outer space, but my health's the best it's been in a while...but I look scary under daylight."

Joni Mitchell has been battling a mystery condition known as Morgellons disease. (Image: Getty)

Describing her symptoms, she continued: "Fibers in a variety of colours protrude out of my skin like mushrooms after a rainstorm: they cannot be forensically identified as animal, vegetable or mineral. Morgellons is a slow, unpredictable killer - a terrorist disease: it will blow up one of your organs, leaving you in bed for a year.

"But I have a tremendous will to live: I've been through another pandemic - I'm a polio survivor, so I know how conservative the medical body can be."

Detailing the severity of her condition in her 2014 memoir, Joni Mitchell: In Her Own Words, Mitchell recounted the debilitating effects of her illness: "Sometimes I'd have to crawl across the floor. My legs would cramp up, just like a polio spasm. It hit all of the places where I had polio."

By 2020, Mitchell said that she was gradually improving.

Joni Mitchell said in 2020 that her health is gradually improving. (Image: Getty)

Adding to her challenges, Mitchell has also struggled with insomnia and acute paranoia, largely due to her constant fear of home intruders following a series of stalkers invading her property.

She described it as “personal chronic situations of tension” after “stalker after stalker after stalker in my yard. A lot of Manson-type butcherous stalkers”.

Mitchell added: “I'm the night watchman. I can't sleep until it's light outside. I am scared of the dark.”

Aside from her health battles, incidents in her personal life have caused her to lose her love of making music.

Joni Mitchell gave birth to a daughter in 1965. (Image: Getty)

In 1965, Joni gave birth to a daughter. Unable to provide for her, Joni placed her for adoption and played her original music in nightclubs to make ends meet.

The heartbreaking story remained private until 1993 when Joni’s old roommate revealed it to a tabloid magazine.

Her daughter, now named Kilauren Gibb, had already begun searching for her biological parents and she and Joni were reunited in 1997.

After the meeting, Mitchell said that she lost interest in songwriting as her daughter's birth and her inability to take care of her was the moment her songwriting inspiration really began.

Joni Mitchell threatened to quit music for good in 2002. (Image: Getty)

A few years later, in 2002, Joni threatened to quit the music industry for good, describing it as a “corrupt cesspool”.

The Canadian said at the time: “I'm quitting because the business made itself so repugnant to me. Record companies are not looking for talent. They're looking for a look and a willingness to cooperate."

Thankfully, Joni has made a triumphant return to the stage. It comes after she performed at the 2024 Grammy Awards, bringing the audience to tears with her rendition of Both Sides Now.

Joni’s Hollywood Bowl shows will take place on Saturday and Sunday, with the singer joined by Brandi Carlile.