Who Is Caroline Smedvig? The Amazing Life Story of James Taylor’s Wife

Caroline Smedvig, known to family and friends as Kim, is the wife of Grammy Award winner James Taylor and a former public relations and marketing director at the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She spent nearly two decades inside one of America’s most respected classical music institutions before she married one of its most beloved folk and pop voices. Her career, her first marriage to a celebrated trumpeter, and her quiet family life in western Massachusetts make her story far richer than a simple “famous husband” label suggests. This guide walks through her background, her work, her marriages, her children, and the songs her husband wrote for her, using details from news reports, obituaries, and interviews.

Who Is Caroline Smedvig?

Caroline Smedvig is an American arts executive, book editor, and the third wife of singer and songwriter James Taylor. Obituaries of her first husband in the Seattle Times and the Boston Globe identify her as Caroline Elisabeth Hessberg, known as Kim. She took the name Smedvig through that first marriage and has used it professionally for decades. Her friends call her Kim, and James Taylor uses that name too, both in conversation and in public interviews.

Most of her public profile comes from two places: her long career at the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) and her marriage to Taylor. She has never courted celebrity attention, and she rarely gives interviews. That privacy explains why biographies of her often repeat the same handful of verified facts.

Caroline Smedvig Bio Table

Detail	Information
Full name	Caroline Elisabeth Smedvig (born Caroline Elisabeth Hessberg)
Nickname	Kim
Nationality	American
Birth date	Not confirmed by major news sources
Approximate age	Reported as 46 in February 2001, which places her birth around 1954
Profession	Former Director of Public Relations and Marketing, Boston Symphony Orchestra; book editor
Notable work	Editor of Seiji: An Intimate Portrait of Seiji Ozawa (1998)
First husband	Rolf Smedvig, trumpeter (marriage ended in divorce; he died in 2015)
Current husband	James Taylor
Wedding date	February 18, 2001
Wedding location	Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Boston, Massachusetts
Children	Twin sons Henry and Rufus Taylor (born April 2001)
Stepchildren	Sally Taylor and Ben Taylor
Home	The Berkshires region of western Massachusetts
Net worth	Not publicly documented

What Is Known About Caroline Smedvig’s Early Life?

Very little verified information about Caroline Smedvig’s childhood and family background exists in the public record. Major news outlets have not documented her parents, hometown, or schooling, and she has not shared those details in any widely reported interview. Some smaller websites list a birthplace and a specific birthday, but those claims conflict with one another and lack a reliable original source.

The most trustworthy age marker comes from the Associated Press. Its report on her 2001 wedding listed her as 46 years old. The Globe and Mail repeated that age in its own coverage. That figure places her birth around 1954, although you will find other years quoted online. Until a credible source publishes her exact date of birth, treat any specific birthday with caution.

What Did Caroline Smedvig Do at the Boston Symphony Orchestra?

Caroline Smedvig worked as the director of public relations and marketing for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, one of the oldest and most prominent orchestras in the United States. In that role, she helped shape how the public saw the orchestra and its music director, the conductor Seiji Ozawa. The 1998 book she edited describes her as someone who worked with Ozawa and the BSO for nearly twenty years.

Her job placed her at the center of Boston’s cultural life. The orchestra performs at Symphony Hall, presents the popular Boston Pops season, and hosts summer programs at Tanglewood, and a public relations director sits close to all of it. A Pops concert taping eventually led her to meet the man she would marry.

What Book Did Caroline Smedvig Edit?

Caroline Smedvig edited Seiji: An Intimate Portrait of Seiji Ozawa, a 114 page hardcover published by Houghton Mifflin in 1998. The book marked Ozawa’s 25th anniversary with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which made him the longest serving music director in the orchestra’s history at that time. Photographer Lincoln Russell, who spent about twenty years photographing the conductor, supplied the images, and film composer John Williams wrote the introduction.

The project shows how much trust Smedvig earned inside the classical music world. Editors of a tribute book need the cooperation of the subject, the photographer, and famous contributors. She brought all of them together. The book blends photographs with personal tributes and captures Ozawa at work, at play, and in private moments.

Who Was Caroline Smedvig’s First Husband?

Caroline Smedvig’s first husband was Rolf Smedvig, a virtuoso trumpeter and cofounder of the Empire Brass quintet. Rolf grew up in Seattle, made his solo debut with the Seattle Symphony at age 13, and joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra at 19. He became the orchestra’s principal trumpet before he turned 25, then left in 1981 to pursue a solo and chamber music career.

Obituaries in the Boston Globe and Seattle Times state that his first marriage, to Caroline Hessberg, known as Kim, ended in divorce. Rolf later married Kelly Holub in 1992 and raised four children with her. He died suddenly of a heart attack at his home in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts, on April 27, 2015, at age 62. Some websites describe Rolf as Caroline’s “late husband,” but that phrase misleads readers. The couple divorced long before his death and long before she married James Taylor.

How Did Caroline Smedvig Meet James Taylor?

Caroline Smedvig met James Taylor in 1993, when he taped a Boston Pops concert at Symphony Hall. The Associated Press reported that the two began dating two years later, in 1995. Taylor’s second marriage, to actress Kathryn Walker, ended in divorce in the mid 1990s.

The Boston Pops setting matters here. Taylor grew up in the Boston area, was born at Massachusetts General Hospital in 1948, and has a deep connection to the region’s musical life. Smedvig worked on the institutional side of the same scene. Their shared roots in Massachusetts music gave them common ground long before their relationship turned romantic.

When Did Caroline Smedvig Marry James Taylor?

Caroline Smedvig married James Taylor on Sunday, February 18, 2001, at the Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Boston. About 50 family members and friends attended the small ceremony. The wedding was the second marriage for Smedvig and the third for Taylor, who was 52 at the time.

The guest list reflected her standing in the music world. John Williams, the Hollywood film composer and Boston Pops conductor laureate, gave the bride away. Sir André Previn and cellist Yo-Yo Ma performed during the service. Few weddings feature that level of musical talent, and it shows how respected both the bride and the groom were among their peers.

Does Caroline Smedvig Have Children?

Yes, Caroline Smedvig has twin sons with James Taylor, named Henry and Rufus, who were born in April 2001. Multiple reports state that the couple welcomed the boys with the help of a surrogate. Taylor moved his family to the Berkshires in western Massachusetts after the twins arrived.

Henry has followed his father into music and performs with him at times. Rufus prefers a quieter life and stays out of the spotlight. Through her marriage, Smedvig is also stepmother to Sally Taylor and Ben Taylor, Taylor’s children with singer Carly Simon. Both Sally and Ben have built their own music careers. Taylor has said in a Facebook Q&A that meeting Kim and the birth of their two boys mark major turning points in his life.

How Has Caroline Smedvig Inspired James Taylor’s Music?

Caroline Smedvig inspired several James Taylor songs, most famously “Caroline I See You” from his 2002 album October Road. Taylor confirmed in a 2015 Facebook Q&A that the song is a love song to his wife Kim. He said he wrote it in about twenty minutes while sitting on the stairway of his newly built house on Martha’s Vineyard, after picking up a guitar and letting the song arrive almost complete.

October Road was released on August 13, 2002, and it debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 with 154,000 copies sold in its first week. It was Taylor’s best performing album of the SoundScan era. The album’s credits also list a Caroline Taylor for backing vocals on the opening track. Another track on the record, “On the 4th of July,” draws on part of their relationship story. Taylor’s 2015 song “You and I Again” also reflects their bond, according to published profiles.

Did Caroline Smedvig Ever Perform With James Taylor?

Caroline Smedvig has shared the stage with James Taylor on occasion, according to Yahoo Entertainment, though she has never built a career as a performer. Her strengths lie in communications, editing, and arts management, and her public appearances stay rare. She prefers to support her husband from behind the scenes rather than compete for attention.

Taylor himself has described the relationship as the start of his adult life. In a tribute for their 15th anniversary, he wrote that partnering with Caroline gave him what he always wanted and the reason to commit himself fully to the world. That statement carries weight coming from a man whose earlier decades included widely reported struggles with addiction and two marriages that ended in divorce.

Who Is James Taylor?

James Taylor is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist who was born in Boston on March 12, 1948. He broke through in 1970 with “Fire and Rain” and reached number one in 1971 with his recording of Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend.” He has won six Grammy Awards and sold more than 100 million records worldwide. He earned his first number one album in the United States in 2015 with Before This World, and he continues to tour in 2026.

Taylor married singer Carly Simon in 1972, and they divorced in 1983. He married actress Kathryn Walker in 1985, and that marriage ended in the mid 1990s. Smedvig became his third wife, and the two have now been married for 25 years, which makes this his longest marriage by a wide margin.

Where Does Caroline Smedvig Live Today?

Caroline Smedvig lives with James Taylor in the Berkshires region of western Massachusetts. Reports place the family in Lenox and in the nearby town of Washington. The area is also home to Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, where her first career took place.

She keeps a private life and rarely appears in interviews. That choice fits the pattern of her career, in which she promoted other people’s music and stayed out of the frame herself.

Conclusion

Caroline Smedvig built a respected career at the Boston Symphony Orchestra, edited a tribute book on Seiji Ozawa, and then built a marriage with James Taylor that has reached 25 years. She raised twin sons, inspired some of her husband’s most personal songs, and kept her private life private. Her story proves that a person can shape culture from behind the scenes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Caroline Smedvig?

Caroline Smedvig, called Kim, is the wife of singer and songwriter James Taylor. She worked for years as the director of public relations and marketing at the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She also edited a 1998 book about conductor Seiji Ozawa. She and Taylor married on February 18, 2001, in Boston.

How long has Caroline Smedvig been married to James Taylor?

Caroline Smedvig and James Taylor married on February 18, 2001, so they have been married for 25 years as of 2026. They began dating in 1995 after meeting in 1993 at a Boston Pops concert taping. Their union is the longest of Taylor’s three marriages.

Does Caroline Smedvig have children?

Caroline Smedvig has twin sons with James Taylor, named Henry and Rufus, who were born in April 2001. Henry performs music with his father at times, while Rufus keeps a low profile. She is also stepmother to Sally Taylor and Ben Taylor, Taylor’s children with Carly Simon.

Was Caroline Smedvig married before James Taylor?

Yes, Caroline Smedvig was first married to Rolf Smedvig, a trumpeter and cofounder of the Empire Brass quintet. That marriage ended in divorce. Rolf later married Kelly Holub in 1992 and died on April 27, 2015, at age 62. Her wedding to James Taylor was her second marriage.

Which James Taylor song is about Caroline Smedvig?

“Caroline I See You,” released on the 2002 album October Road, is James Taylor’s love song to his wife Kim. He said he wrote it in about twenty minutes at his Martha’s Vineyard home. His 2015 song “You and I Again” also draws on their relationship, according to published profiles.