Billy Joel’s daughter, Alexa Ray, shares his way of life adjustments amid mind dysfunction battle

Alexa Ray Joel shared an replace on her father Billy Joel’s well being because the legendary singer battles a mind dysfunction.

Billy, 76, introduced that he had been identified with regular strain hydrocephalus (NPH) – which impacts his imaginative and prescient, listening to and steadiness – on social media in May.

The “Riverside Way” singer, who’s the daughter of Billy and his ex-wife, supermodel Christie Brinkley, 71, instructed Fox News Digital that her father has been “incredibly resilient” within the face of his well being struggles. 

“Unfortunately, I didn’t get this characteristic from him because I like to express how I’m feeling always,” Alexa, 39, mentioned. “He doesn’t whine, especially in his older age.” 

She continued, “I don’t know, maybe he did more when he was younger, and he put that angst into his music for sure, but he just doesn’t complain.” 

“He’s so cool about everything,” Alexa added. “He’s always playing everything down, ‘Oh, I’m fine. Don’t worry.’ He doesn’t want me to worry, and he’s just cool as a cat about everything. And I ask him, ‘I’m like, how are you feeling? Are you OK?’”

Alexa, who simply launched her new single, defined that Billy is absolutely dedicated to his well being and described how he has made some main way of life adjustments. 

“He’s doing his physical therapy three to five days a week, which is really, really important for him right now,” she mentioned. “He’s adjusted his diet. We had dinner the other night. I said, ‘Dad, what are you doing? You’re not getting the steak? You’re getting chicken instead?’ Like, this is a whole new you here.” 

“He’s suddenly eating eggplant and all sorts of vegetables. I said, ‘Dad, you used to hate eggplant. He’s like, ‘Oh, I’ve learned to love it,’” Alexa continued with fun.

“So I’m really proud of him and how he sort of adjusted his habits, and he’s really at probably his most healthy actually right now in terms of how well he’s taking care of himself and prioritizing his health,” she added. “Of course, as his eldest daughter, I’m always looking out for him and making sure he stays on the ball with that. So he’s doing great.”

When Billy first revealed his NPH prognosis, the five-time Grammy Award winner mentioned that the situation had been “exacerbated by recent concert performances, leading to problems with hearing, vision and balance.”

The assertion on the time continued, “Under his doctor’s instructions, Billy is undergoing specific physical therapy and has been advised to refrain from performing during this recovery period. Billy is thankful for the excellent care he is receiving and is fully committed to prioritizing his health.”

Shortly after Billy introduced his prognosis, the “Piano Man” singer canceled all of his tour dates for 2025 and thru July 2026. 

NPH is a situation that occurs when cerebrospinal fluid builds up contained in the cranium and presses on the mind. This situation is almost definitely to happen in folks over age 65. Treating this situation entails surgical procedure to implant a shunt to empty extra fluid from the within of the cranium, in keeping with the Cleveland Clinic. 

Common signs of NPH embrace problem strolling, urinary incontinence and issues with focus and reminiscence. 

However, Alexa instructed Fox News Digital that she had not seen any change in Billy’s cognitive talents. 

“It’s funny because people were concerned about cognitive decline,” she mentioned. “I don’t see any of that from him. I really, really don’t.”

“I was doing a segment for SiriusXM for his channel, the Billy Joel channel on Sirius a couple of weeks ago,” she mentioned. “I do a playlist of his songs. I do analysis on it with the backstories. So I interview him. I go straight to the source, my dad, and I ask him about all the material. And I was asking him, single by single, I said, ‘Well, which album is this from? What year?’”

“He remembers every album, the exact year, the order in which the singles were ordered on the album,” she added. “So, as far as I’m concerned, he’s sharp as a tack. I said, ‘Oh my God, dad, I can’t believe you remember the year of every single song and what was going on and where you were living.” 

“And I’m very thankful to have inherited this great memory because I’ve kind of got a memory like a steel vault. I don’t forget anything myself.” 

Alexa additionally adopted in her father’s footsteps and launched into a profession within the music trade. She first started composing songs on the age of 15 and debuted her six-song EP “Sketches” in August 2006.

The singer-songwriter has additionally launched quite a few singles over time, and she or he has beforehand carried out together with her father at charitable advantages and political fundraisers. In 2024, Alexa sang alongside her father within the ultimate yr of his Madison Square Garden residency. 

Alexa not too long ago launched her new track “Riverside Way,” which is the primary single from her upcoming five-song EP.

While talking with Fox News Digital, Alexa defined how she is taking her music and lyrics in a daring new route with “Riverside Way.”

“It is personal to me because it was my way of saying to the world and saying, as an artist, I’m not just one person,” she mentioned. “I think there is a sort of societal penchant and interest in putting women in a box and pinpointing them as, ‘OK, she’s that type.’”

Alexa continued, “She’s good or she is bad or she’s sugar or she’s spice or she’s sweet or she’s a bitch. We have this interest in pigeonholing women a lot of times. Or even people do it [and] they don’t even realize, right? You just form quick judgments based on a picture or based on an interview clip, now with sound bites on social media. It’s so easy to form judgments too quickly, I feel.”

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“And so ‘Riverside Way’ is personal for me because it’s my way of saying, ‘Hey, you know, just like most women and particularly artists, there’s not just one side to us,’” she added. “There is the side of me that’s very much the good daughter and loves to perhaps be a little more demure. But then there’s another side that’s…a bit wilder and more curious and more interested in exploring things. And I think with ‘Riverside Way,’ I wanted to show, it’s OK to get outside your comfort zone and take risks, both with storytelling, narrative wise and stylistically with this song.”

“I wanted this image of a girl that’s just having a fantasy with a guy and, you know, speeding down the highway in a truck at 200 miles per hour, and they’re not even sure where they’re going or where they’ll end up because they’re so immersed in the moment. And so I wanted that escapism to be very vivid. And I am an escapist at heart. I love painting a very vivid picture in my mind. That I can just sort of climb into and crawl into. I get a real thrill from that as an artist.” 

Alexa is the one youngster shared by Billy and Brinkley, who first met in 1983 whereas they have been each vacationing in St. Barts. They started courting shortly after and the previous couple’s romance impressed Billy’s 1983 hit “Uptown Girl.” 

Billy and Brinkley married in March 1985 and welcomed Alexa in December of that yr. Billy has beforehand shared that he wrote his 1993 track “Lullaby (Goodnight, My Angel)” about his firstborn daughter. 

However, Billy and Brinkley separated in April 1994 and finalized their divorce that August.

Despite their divorce, Brinkley and Billy remained shut. While talking with Fox News Digital, Alexa mirrored on how her dad and mom have maintained a heat and lasting friendship over time. 

“They both love me so much, too. I mean that’s a huge part of it,” she mentioned. “And there was a ton of love between them. Dare I say that I think a piece of that is still there. I mean they had a beautiful, beautiful love.”

Billy and Brinkley’s marriage was featured within the new HBO documentary concerning the music icon’s life, “Billy Joel: And So it Goes.” Alexa participated in a four-hour sit-down interview for the two-part documentary and likewise appeared in archival footage, a lot of which was supplied by Brinkley.  

During her interview with Fox News Digital, Alexa shared that watching moments from her dad and mom’ life collectively was “truly touching and remarkable to see on camera.”

“I think just for people watching it in the documentary, the love was palpable,” she mentioned. “And it was a lot of joy. I even thought it was the most uplifting part of the documentary, quite frankly, because they played off each other’s differences, too.”

“Mom smiling at the camera and dad pretending to say, ‘Oh, get away.’ They were always putting on skits and doing little schticks together. And having a lot of fun and just having a blast, I don’t think, you know, I’ve never seen either of them as playful since those times.”

“It was very emotional for me looking back, going, ‘Wow, they look so carefree,’” she added. “It’s just so beautiful to see that. And I think they really opened each other up in that way. You know mom being the California girl who was just so full of life and so vivacious and so full of joy and radiance.” 

“And my dad was more like the Long Island hooligan, as he calls himself, but you know a genius with a chip on his shoulder,” Alexa mentioned with fun. “So they kind of complimented each other in that way and their differences. And yet they had a lot in common that they both loved music and creativity and singing and dancing and putting on a show.” 

“They’re both natural entertainers who are just perfect for showbiz in many ways. I know my dad acts like he’s not, but he really is, at the end of the day, a genius at what he does. And they were able to find that connection, and then I was able to share that with them.”

Alexa defined that she would all the time treasure her reminiscences of rising up with Billy and Brinkley whereas they have been collectively.

“We had musicals around the house,” she recalled. “It was a very, very joyful childhood. And I think they respect and cherish those memories and those years. And it’s sad that it didn’t work out, but those memories live on forever.” 

“I mean, my father sings about it in the ‘Lullaby,’” Alexa mentioned, quoting Billy’s lyric, “Will always be a part of me.”

“It’s still a part of you, and it’s beautiful to see how those memories live on in the documentary,” she added.

Alexa additionally mirrored on how her dad and mom’ experiences had impacted her views on marriage and relationships.

“I think I don’t have as much of a particularly romanticized or idealized view of marriage, even though I think it’s a beautiful thing and I would love to be married,” she mentioned. 

“I have seen eight divorces growing up, and I’ve seen the highs and the lows and the in-betweens,” she continued. “The good, the bad, and the ugly. So I have a very, what’s the word? Discerning view.” 

“And I’m glad. I tell my parents, I feel lucky to have been able to have learned from seeing what they went through and learning those lessons through seeing the mistakes.”