Sophie Raworths Mom Has Rare Brain Disorder Like Billy Joel

star Sophie Raworth has revealed her mother Jenny is suffering from the same rare brain disorder as pop legend . 

Jenny, 84, a former florist and model, is battling bowel as well as normal pressure hydrocephalus – a condition caused by a build-up of spinal fluid which can put pressure on the brain and affect movement. 

Billy himself has previously shared that the condition has impacted his 'hearing, vision, and balance,' and forced him to cancel a string of upcoming concerts.

Sophie, 58, shared her mother's diagnosis just months after the 'terribly sad' death of her father Richard.

The broadcaster shared that Jenny now uses a wheelchair due to the impact of the diagnosis, and admitted it's been 'hard' for her due to her active lifestyle.

She said: 'It's the same thing Billy Joel has.'

She told Saga Magazine: 'Your spinal fluid doesn't drain and presses on your brain. It affects your movement, so mum can't move, she's in a wheelchair, which is really hard because she was always so active. But she's still completely with it.'

In May, music icon Billy revealed his diagnosis and announced the cancellation of his upcoming concerts, following recent onstage struggles.

Speaking on Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast, he said doctors cannot identify the cause of the condition, adding: 'They don’t know… I thought it must be from drinking.'

Over the years, Joel has been open about his struggles with alcohol and substance abuse, as well as his battles with mental health, which at one point led to a suicide attempt amid career pressures.

The Daily Mail's Richard Eden previously shared the news of Sophie's father's passing last year, with the star continuing to front the BBC's VE Day coverage despite the recent loss.

A colleague told him: 'It's terribly sad, but Sophie was the consummate professional, as always.'

Richard, who was 83, 'died peacefully after a long battle with Parkinson's disease', the family said in a statement.

They say he was 'a man with a big heart and heaps of kindness and tenacity', describing him as a 'businessman, photographer, jazz bass player [and] passionate gardener.'

Sophie revealed in 2021: 'My dad has had Parkinson's for several years now. It is a horrible disease. Yet he deals with it amazingly. He never complains, just gets on with it with kindness and good humour.'

Later that year, she completed a sponsored run to raise money for a Parkinson's charity, telling her father: 'Thanks for your love and support. You are wonderful. This run is for you.'

The presenter has three children – Ella, Oliver and Georgia – with her husband, estate agent Richard Winter.

She spoke after Ella's birth about how her relationship with her father and mother, Jenny, had deepened.

'Having children really changes your relationship with your parents,' she explained. 'We see so much more of them now. My mother can't bear to be without Ella for more than a few days at a stretch.'

Speaking of her 'perfect weekend', she said: 'I'll relax with one of my dad's frothy cappuccinos, a speciality of his, while the grandparents play with Ella.'

Sophie's younger sister, Kate Raworth, is a noted economist, who came up with the 'doughnut economic' model.

A diagram of the model, fittingly shaped as a doughnut, explains how the centre of the hole represents the life essentials that people lack while the other layers are planetary boundaries that could lead to an ecological collapse.