Joni Mitchell becomes US citizen after six decades in America
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Joni Mitchell has become a US citizen, completing a process that began after she moved from Canada to the United States in the mid-1960s. The 82-year-old singer-songwriter shared footage of her citizenship ceremony and a photograph beside an American flag, captioned “A journey that began 62 years ago”; she can now vote in US elections, a right she had previously said she wished she had.
Born in Alberta in 1943, Mitchell began performing in Saskatchewan before marrying American folk singer Chuck Mitchell in 1965 and moving to the US. She released her debut album in 1968 and later settled in California, where she still lives; after a brain aneurysm in 2015, she returned to live performance in 2022. A biopic about her is in development, with Meryl Streep announced for the lead role.
- Joni Mitchell has become a US citizen after 62 years in America.
- She can now vote in US elections.
- The Canadian-born singer returned to performing in 2022.
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Joni Mitchell is a Canadian singer-songwriter who became a major figure in folk music in the 1960s. Born in Alberta, she began performing in Canada before moving to the United States after marrying folk singer Chuck Mitchell.
Her songs and albums helped establish her on the American music scene, and she later made California her home. Her career has spanned decades, with a return to live performance after a serious brain aneurysm in 2015.
The United States allows citizens to vote in federal elections, while non-citizens generally cannot. Mitchell had previously said she wished she could vote, so citizenship gives her that right.
Full account
Joni Mitchell has become a US citizen, more than six decades after moving to the country. The Canadian-born singer-songwriter shared footage of her citizenship ceremony on social media on 13 October, including the moment her name was called for the oath. In a photograph, she waves an American flag. Her caption described it as “a journey that began 62 years ago”.
Citizenship gives Mitchell the right to vote in US elections. At a concert in 2024, she urged the audience to vote and said she wished she could join them, describing herself as Canadian. The remarks came shortly before that year’s presidential election. Mitchell has long made her life and career in the United States, though she has also spoken of her connection to Canada.
Born in Fort Macleod, Alberta, in 1943, Mitchell grew up in Saskatchewan and began performing in folk clubs there before playing in Calgary and Toronto. She met fellow musician Chuck Mitchell in Toronto; they married in 1965, and she moved to the United States. The marriage ended two years later. She went on to build a reputation on the American folk scene, released her first album in 1968, and later settled in Los Angeles, where she became associated with the Laurel Canyon music community.
Mitchell’s most recent studio album, Shine, was released in 2007. After a brain aneurysm in 2015 and a long recovery, she returned to performing in 2022, later appearing at concerts known as Joni Jams. At this year’s Juno Awards in Canada, she received a lifetime achievement honour and reflected publicly on her recovery. A biopic about her is in development with director Cameron Crowe; Clive Davis has said Meryl Streep is set to portray her.
Where outlets differ
The reports give different accounts of Mitchell’s early US years: one says she moved to Detroit after marrying Chuck Mitchell, then went to New York before Los Angeles; the other focuses on her later move to Laurel Canyon and describes her as based in California, currently in Santa Barbara. The second says she has lived in Bel Air for 51 years.
The accounts frame her 2024 remarks differently. One foregrounds her comment about being unable to vote and her reaction to a song critical of Donald Trump; the other focuses on her appeal to concertgoers to vote ahead of the presidential election.
The second report includes Mitchell’s comments at this year’s Juno Awards about US politics, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and her recovery. The first instead gives more detail about her albums and the planned biopic.
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Originally published by The Guardian as “Joni Mitchell becomes US citizen: ‘A journey that began 62 years ago’”.