Billy Joel’s Daughter Alexa Ray Makes Powerful Statement About Mental Health

Alexa Ray Joel is the daughter of musician Billy Joel and model Christie Brinkley. She was born on December 29, 1985, and with two famous parents, she has grown up in the spotlight. Like her famous father, she was also drawn to the music industry and has created her own path as a singer.

Alexa is also using her platform to help create awareness for mental health and has partnered with the Hope for Depression Research Foundation’s 10th annual Race of Hope to Defeat Depression. As for why she made this decision? She told People in an interview on August 1, 2025, that “it’s a very personal cause.” She then went on to detail why.

Alexa Ray Joel Discusses Her Father Billy Joel’s Depression

“Depression runs in my family. I’ve seen my father struggle with it. I’ve seen my grandmother struggle, and personally, I’ve experienced it as well,” she said.

Alexa continued, “I’ve always struggled with it. I sort of describe depression as feeling like you have this non-existential sort of weight. It’s not literal, you can’t see it, right? You can’t grasp it. But it’s just this weight in the back of your mind, where things just feel heavy. For me, I don’t know that I would say that I have chronic depression. It kind of comes and goes.”

Also in her interview, Alexa stressed the importance of bringing awareness to mental health, including depression and bipolar disorder. She revealed her grandmother, Billy’s mother, whom she lovingly referred to as “Nanny,” was undiagnosed but “struggled with bipolar disorder.” At the time, in the 50s, “mental health wasn’t fully understood,” Alexa said. “There was a very negative stigma around it. But it was discovered in the later years that it was bipolar disorder.”

Billy Joel Turned His Pain Into Something Beautiful

Billy has discussed some of the lows in his life, including his difficult childhood in his new HBO documentary: “Billy Joel: And So It Goes.” Alexa acknowledged the “struggle” that her father has endured, but also commented on how he took something painful and channeled it into his songwriting.

“And I think it makes him so much more relatable as a man, who has had these struggles, and has been so transparent about it,” she said. “It’s a story of resilience, really. It really shows people, if you think you can’t get through something, or you think you’ve hit rock bottom, you can still come up from that. I mean, you look at my dad, and I joke to him. I’m like, ‘Dad, are you like a cat? You’ve had nine lives.’ He’s been through so much heartbreak and loss, but then, so many wonderful things.”