Andrea Heinemann Simon ( Heinemann; March 24, 1909 – February 15, 1994) was an American civil rights activist and the mother of singer Carly Simon.

Life and career

Andrea Louise Heinemann was born and raised in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, the second child of Ofelia "Elma Marie" (Oliete/Ollright), known as "Chibie", and Frederick Adolph "Fred" Heinemann.Stated on '' Finding Your Roots'', October 10, 2017 Her father was of German descent. Her mother was born in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, and was of ''

pardo ''Pardos'' (feminine ''pardas'') is a term used in the former Portuguese and Spanish colonies in the Americas to refer to the triracial descendants of Southern Europeans, Amerindians and West Africans. In some places they were defined as ne ...

'' heritage, a freed-slave descendant (the show '' Finding Your Roots'' has tested her daughter Carly's DNA as 10% African and 2% Indigenous).Weller, Sheil
Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon—and the Journey of a Generation
Washington Square Press 2009 Heinemann married Richard Leo Simon (March 6, 1899July 29, 1960), co-founder of the publishing company

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest pu ...

, on August 3, 1934. At the time of their engagement, Heinemann worked as a receptionist for the company. They had four children: *former opera mezzo-soprano singer and New York real estate agent, Joanna Simon *

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

score writer

Lucy Simon Lucy Elizabeth Simon (May 5, 1940 – October 20, 2022) was an American composer for the theatre and of popular songs. She recorded and performed as a singer and songwriter, and was known for the musicals ''The Secret Garden'' (1991) and '' Doc ...

*singer-songwriter Carly Simon *Peter Simon The family resided in the Riverdale community of the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

. Simon was actively involved in the

civil rights movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...

and community work. This included serving on the board of directors of the Riverdale Mental Health Association for over 30 years and the Riverdale Chapter of the United Nations Association. In 1994, Simon died of lung cancer at her Riverdale home at the age of 84.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simon, Andrea Heinemann 1909 births 1994 deaths Activists for African-American civil rights American women activists American people of Cuban descent American people of German descent Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state) Movements for civil rights Carly Simon Simon family (publishing)