Joni Mitchell Is Now Officially American
Joni Mitchell has become a US citizen, formalising a connection to the country where she has lived for decades. The Canadian-born musician shared an Instagram video of her naturalisation ceremony, marking a change in citizenship while retaining her Canadian identity.
Mitchell was born in Alberta and raised in Saskatoon, and moved to the United States in the mid-1960s. She settled in Detroit, lived briefly in New York, then moved to Los Angeles in 1968 and became a leading figure in the Laurel Canyon folk scene; she now lives in Santa Barbara. In 2024, she said she wished she could vote in the US while criticising Donald Trump.
- Joni Mitchell has completed US naturalisation.
- The Canadian-born musician has lived in the US for decades.
- She has spoken publicly against Donald Trump.
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Joni Mitchell is a Canadian-born singer-songwriter whose career took shape in the United States. After moving there in the 1960s, she became part of the folk music scene in Los Angeles’s Laurel Canyon, alongside artists who helped shape the era’s popular music.
Citizenship is a legal status that can affect rights such as voting and holding a passport. Mitchell has lived in the US for decades while retaining her Canadian identity, and she has previously spoken about wishing she could vote in American elections.