Joni Mitchell sworn in as a US citizen after 62 years

Mixed · 2Joni Mitchell, the Canadian-born singer-songwriter, has become a US citizen, and shared the news on Instagram on Tuesday 13 October. 1 2 Mixed · 2Her post showed her smiling and holding an American flag in front of US and Department of Homeland Security flags, along with a short video of her being applauded as she was called up to be sworn in; the caption read "A journey that began 62 years ago." 1 2 Mixed · 2Variety reported that neither Mitchell nor her representatives immediately gave further information, and the Daily Mail said it had asked her representatives for comment. 1 2

Mixed · 2Mitchell was born Roberta Joan Anderson in 1943 in Fort Macleod, Alberta; she moved to the US with then-husband Chuck Mitchell and lived in Detroit, then New York, and settled in Laurel Canyon in Los Angeles in the late 1960s. 1 2 Mixed · 2She kept close Canadian ties, with residency in British Columbia from around 1971; in a 2006 interview she said, "L.A. is my workplace, B.C. is my heartbeat." 1 2 Left · 1Variety noted that the New York Times excluded her from an earlier list of greatest living American songwriters because she remained a Canadian citizen. 1

Mixed · 2Both outlets recalled her 2024 Hollywood Bowl remark about Donald Trump, "I wish I could vote… I'm a Canadian. I'm one of those lousy immigrants." Variety suggested the political climate may have influenced the timing, which is its speculation rather than anything Mitchell has said. 1 2 Right · 1The Daily Mail added that in March, accepting a Juno Awards Lifetime Achievement Award from Prime Minister Mark Carney, she said, "I'm living in the states and you know what's happening there," and that Graham Nash commented on her post, "Congrats, Joan! Just in time to vote!" 2 Mixed · 2Both outlets noted her recovery from a 2015 brain aneurysm. 1 2