logo
Linda Ronstadt, 1982 | Linda Ronstadt | Source: Getty Images | youtube.com/@TODAY
Linda Ronstadt, 1982 | Linda Ronstadt | Source: Getty Images | youtube.com/@TODAY

Linda Ronstadt Now Shares Home with Adopted Daughter Who Is Her 'Source of Joy' as She Fights Disease

Milly Wanjiku Ndirangu
Jan 16, 2024
12:00 P.M.
  • Legendary rock musician Linda Ronstadt now lives quietly in her San Fransisco home.
  • She shares the home with her adopted daughter, who moved in to support her as she is not in good health.
  • Ronstadt suffers from a disease that has taken her singing voice and fine motor skills, but her spirit remains unbroken.
Advertisement
Linda Ronstadt poses for a portrait in Los Angeles, California, circa 1982 | Source: Getty Images

Linda Ronstadt poses for a portrait in Los Angeles, California, circa 1982 | Source: Getty Images

Linda Ronstadt, a well-known figure in the rock music scene, has made significant contributions to the music industry. Her clear and powerful voice brought life to memorable songs like "You're No Good" and "Blue Bayou." She made a name for herself on Broadway and popularized mariachi music.

Linda Ronstadt poses during a portrait session in Los Angeles, California, circa 1982 | Source: Getty Images

Linda Ronstadt poses during a portrait session in Los Angeles, California, circa 1982 | Source: Getty Images

Advertisement

Her talent and charm even caught the attention of notable figures like President Obama and Kermit the Frog. Ronstadt was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona, where she lived on the remaining part of a large cattle ranch. Growing up in the unique environment of the Sonoran desert had a lasting impact on her.

Advertisement

She says, "There's a specific area of the Sonoran desert where I grew up that has a border fence in it, but I didn't particularly notice the division."

In adulthood, she still visits Mexico, especially the hilly town where her grandfather was born, which always energizes her. She finds the community there, with its horse-riding residents, almost magical.

Advertisement

Coming from a musically inclined family, Ronstadt developed a love for singing and a taste for the simple, wholesome food from her family's kitchen. She is particularly fond of the simple meals of ranchers and farmers, like beans and tortillas.

Despite her lineage, with one grandfather being the inventor of the electric stove and the other a maestro of meat and mesquite, Ronstadt confesses to a void in her repertoire when it comes to cooking.

Advertisement

Ronstadt achieved great success in the '70s and became the most successful female singer of the decade, but she remains humble. She openly admits that the initial albums of the Los Angeles folk-rock trio, the Stone Poneys, were not up to par and believes her singing skills didn't fully develop until the 1980s.

Advertisement

When an interviewer mentioned her love for their late '60s music, she exclaimed, "Oh, God! We were terrible." Interestingly, a Mexican song inspired her to join a family sing-a-long while filming the documentary "Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice." Later, she modestly dismissed it as "not singing," saying she was just "grunting" along with the singer.

Advertisement

Stardom came with a lifestyle that Ronstadt found difficult. The constant travel and the loneliness of life on the road made maintaining relationships challenging.

Although she never married, she embraced motherhood wholeheartedly. She adopted two infants, Mary Clementine, and Carlos, and intentionally kept them out of the public eye as they grew up.

Advertisement

Today, her children are her "constant source of joy." Mary, a visual artist, has her paintings displayed in her mother's San Fransisco home. Carlos, who lives just a mile away, works in IT.

The rock music icon now lives with a silent piano due to Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), a disease that gradually took away her singing voice and fine motor skills. She can't play the piano, she revealed, "My fingers won't do anything like that."

Linda Ronstadt attends the 42nd Annual Kennedy Center Honors in in Washington, DC on December 08, 2019 | Source: Getty Images

Linda Ronstadt attends the 42nd Annual Kennedy Center Honors in in Washington, DC on December 08, 2019 | Source: Getty Images

Nevertheless, her piano still echoes with music played by others. While her singing voice has been silenced, Ronstadt has found other ways to express herself.

She reflects on end-of-life issues, acknowledging the uncertainty of life and death, but focuses on more immediate concerns of everyday life.

Advertisement
Linda Ronstadt during a home interview from a video dated November 2, 2023 | Source: youtube.com/@TODAY

Linda Ronstadt during a home interview from a video dated November 2, 2023 | Source: youtube.com/@TODAY

Linda Ronstadt during a home interview from a video dated November 2, 2023 | Source: youtube.com/@TODAY

Linda Ronstadt during a home interview from a video dated November 2, 2023 | Source: youtube.com/@TODAY

In late August 2022, Vogue visited Ronstadt at her San Francisco home where she lives with her daughter to discuss Ronstadt's book, which was scheduled for publication on October 4, 2022. She was found in her living room, inspecting the keys of her black grand piano.

Advertisement
Linda Ronstadt during a home interview from a video dated November 2, 2023 | Source: youtube.com/@TODAY

Linda Ronstadt during a home interview from a video dated November 2, 2023 | Source: youtube.com/@TODAY

Linda Ronstadt during a home interview from a video dated November 2, 2023 | Source: youtube.com/@TODAY

Linda Ronstadt during a home interview from a video dated November 2, 2023 | Source: youtube.com/@TODAY

Even with her physical limitations, Ronstadt managed to publish a book, "Feels Like Home." She had the help of her co-writer Lawrence Downes, who would channel her voice based on numerous conversations and testing the recipes. "Feels Like Home" includes an array of recipes.

Advertisement
Linda Ronstadt during a home interview from a video dated November 2, 2023 | Source: youtube.com/@TODAY

Linda Ronstadt during a home interview from a video dated November 2, 2023 | Source: youtube.com/@TODAY

No matter her self-confessed lack of culinary skills, which makes her authorship of a cookbook all the more intriguing, Ronstadt's book focuses, in part, on recipes. Her recipes range from the Ronstadt family's meatballs to the perfect tortilla.

She is particularly discerning about tortillas, stating, "You have to start when you were a kid and learn how to [make them]. I try to make 'em, and they just look like amoebas!"

Linda Ronstadt during a home interview from a video dated November 2, 2023 | Source: youtube.com/@TODAY

Linda Ronstadt during a home interview from a video dated November 2, 2023 | Source: youtube.com/@TODAY

Advertisement

Ronstadt's story has been told through music, and now she seeks to express it through food as much as possible. However, she never really learned how to cook.

She had planned to learn cooking as a project for her retirement, but life had other plans. "I didn't know I was going to get this disease," she confessed.

Linda Ronstadt during a home interview from a video dated November 2, 2023 | Source: youtube.com/@TODAY

Linda Ronstadt during a home interview from a video dated November 2, 2023 | Source: youtube.com/@TODAY

In a different interview, Ronstadt's speech and movements subtly revealed the impact of the degenerative illness that forced her to retire from performing in 2009.

Even now, the spirited determination that catapulted her to the pinnacle of the predominantly male music industry in the 1970s remains unmistakable. She spoke with a breathless energy, laughing, analyzing, and reminiscing.

Advertisement
Advertisement

The first symptoms of the disease that would end her career appeared in 2000. Her throat would tense up while singing, and she rapidly lost strength. Misdiagnosed initially with Parkinson's disease, it took years before doctors correctly identified her condition as PSP, a rare disorder that attacks the part of the brain governing physical movement.

The diagnosis meant a significant lifestyle change for Ronstadt. The activities she had envisioned for this stage of her life — gardening, knitting, traveling for pleasure — were no longer possible. However, she finds solace in writing, which offers her a chance to revisit the places of her past and the beloved people who live on in her memory.

Advertisement

When Ronstadt announced her plans to write a cookbook, her children, especially Mary, who moved in to assist as her mother's disease progressed, found the idea amusing, given Ronstadt's lack of culinary skills. Ronstadt's love for food goes beyond her own kitchen.

Linda Ronstadt during an interview at her home from a video dated November 20, 2022 | Source: youtube.com/@CBSSundayMorning

Linda Ronstadt during an interview at her home from a video dated November 20, 2022 | Source: youtube.com/@CBSSundayMorning

Advertisement
Linda Ronstadt during an interview at her home from a video dated November 20, 2022 | Source: youtube.com/@CBSSundayMorning

Linda Ronstadt during an interview at her home from a video dated November 20, 2022 | Source: youtube.com/@CBSSundayMorning

She has a birthday tradition of visiting the Hayes Street Grill in San Francisco for a hot fudge sundae with whipped cream but without nuts. She also enjoys hosting Sunday brunch at her Dutch colonial house near the Presidio. Ronstadt may not be the cook, but she has always emphasized the importance of family meals at a properly set table.

Linda Ronstadt from a video dated November 20, 2022 | Source: youtube.com/@CBSSundayMorning

Linda Ronstadt from a video dated November 20, 2022 | Source: youtube.com/@CBSSundayMorning

Advertisement
Linda Ronstadt from a video dated November 20, 2022 | Source: youtube.com/@CBSSundayMorning

Linda Ronstadt from a video dated November 20, 2022 | Source: youtube.com/@CBSSundayMorning

She made sure her children, whom she adopted as newborns in her 40s, started their day at a table set with cloth napkins. This ritual underscores the value Linda Ronstadt places on family time and shared meals, painting a picture of a home filled with love, laughter, and the aroma of good food.

At 68, Ronstadt was awarded the National Medal of Arts, the highest arts honor in the US. Presented by President Barack Obama at a White House ceremony, she was honored for her "one-of-a-kind voice and her decades of remarkable music." Despite needing assistance to reach the stage, she walked to receive her award.

Advertisement
Advertisement
info

The information in this article is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, and images contained on news.AmoMama.com, or available through news.AmoMama.com is for general information purposes only. news.AmoMama.com does not take responsibility for any action taken as a result of reading this article. Before undertaking any course of treatment please consult with your healthcare provider.

Related posts

The Day Ailing Toby Keith Walked His Gorgeous Daughter-in-Law Down the Aisle Instead of Her Dad — Photos

February 09, 2024

Paul McCartney Found Love with Woman Called 'Not Good for Him' – One Evening Made Him Fall For Her

February 15, 2024

'Been Too Long': Céline Dion Proves She Didn't Lose a Beat as She Sings amid Health Concerns

February 08, 2024

Tim McGraw’s Daughter Gracie Poses in Risqué Outfits, Drawing Mixed Reactions — Photos

May 16, 2024

Pamela Anderson Opens the Doors to Her House Where She Cooks Vegetable Soup & Does Laundry – Photos

May 24, 2024

Celine Dion, 56, Poses in Unbuttoned Shirt & Tights amid Illness Battle, Sparking Heated Reactions

April 24, 2024

Three Out of 5 Siblings Died Abruptly before 43: Tragic Story of the Carter Family

April 29, 2024

Garth Brooks' Daughter, 27, Draws Attention Flaunting Her Slim Figure & Fully-Tattooed Arm in Cowboy Outfit

April 04, 2024

Celine Dion, 55, Makes an Appearance in Pink Attire amid Battle with Stiff Person Syndrome, Earning Reactions

March 25, 2024

This Girl Is the Only Daughter of a 'Knots Landing' Star & Singer, Who Has Been in Love for More than 30 Years

April 28, 2024

'American Idol' Star and Grammy-Winning Singer, Mandisa, Found Dead at 47

April 19, 2024

Cher’s Son Married Woman Who Resembles Her amid Strained Relationship with His Mom — Photos

February 06, 2024

Inside Charo's Elegant Home Where She Found Her Husband of 40 Years Dead: 'He Was an Amazing Man'

February 14, 2024

This Girl Tragically Died at 31 – She Did One Thing to Provide Her 7-Year-Old Son with Money a Month before Her Death

March 01, 2024