Caroline Elisabeth Hessberg, known professionally as Caroline Smedvig, was born on May 31, 1953, in Albany, New York. She is an American journalist, communications executive, and the third wife of six-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter James Taylor.
Beyond her well-known marriage, she built a respected career spanning journalism and arts administration at one of America’s most celebrated orchestras.
Who is Caroline Smedvig?
Caroline Smedvig is a former American journalist and the longtime Director of Public Relations and Marketing for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She is also known by the names Caroline Elisabeth Hessberg and Kim Taylor.
Her career in arts administration and classical music management spanned roughly 25 years. Long before headlines attached her name to James Taylor, she had already built a solid professional identity on her own terms.
She is also a backup vocalist and has performed on stage alongside her husband at various concerts and events. Her quiet but consistent presence in the American music world sets her apart from many celebrity spouses.
Early Life of Caroline Smedvig
Caroline grew up in Albany, New York, in a family with strong ties to education, law, and civic leadership. Her father, Albert Hessberg II, earned his degree from Yale University and later became a prominent Albany attorney.
He served as a senior partner at the firm Hiscock and Barclay and also held the position of president of the Albany County Bar Association.
Her mother, Elisabeth Fitzsimons Goold, passed away in 1991. Albert Hessberg II died of cancer in January 1995 at the age of 78, while serving as a board member at Albany Medical Center.
Caroline was raised alongside two brothers, Albert Hessberg III of Albany and Philip Hessberg of Atlanta. Her brother Albert followed his father into law but was later disbarred by the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division’s Third Judicial Department in June 2019, after pleading guilty to wire and mail fraud and filing a false tax return.
Caroline Smedvig Age
Caroline Smedvig is 73 years old as of 2026, born on May 31, 1953. Her birth sign is Gemini, a zodiac associated with curiosity and communication, both of which defined her journalism and public relations career. She married James Taylor in 2001, when she was 47 years old.
Caroline Smedvig Ethnicity and Nationality
Caroline holds American nationality and was born and raised in Albany, New York. Her ethnic background is Caucasian.
Her family’s deep roots in New York state legal and civic circles reflect a background closely tied to American East Coast culture and tradition.
Caroline Smedvig Height and Weight
Caroline Smedvig stands 5 feet 6 inches tall, which is approximately 168 centimeters. Her weight is reported to be around 147 pounds, or roughly 66 kilograms.
She carries herself with a composed and understated presence, consistent with her preference for a private lifestyle away from the spotlight.
Caroline Smedvig Education
Caroline completed her early schooling at the Albany Academy for Girls, graduating in 1971. She then pursued higher education at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, a well-regarded liberal arts institution for women.
Smith College provided her with a strong foundation in writing, communication, and critical thinking. She graduated in 1975, and those skills would directly shape both her journalism career and her long tenure at the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Caroline Smedvig Career
Caroline Smedvig built her professional life through two distinct phases: an early career in journalism and a long second chapter in arts administration.
Both phases reflected her passion for communication and her instinct for telling meaningful stories.
Early Career in Journalism
While still a college student, Caroline began working as a reporter for the Knickerbocker News, a local newspaper based in Albany, New York. She later worked as an afternoon reporter for the Springfield Daily News, a historic regional newspaper.
She also gained experience at major national outlets during this period, including an internship at the New York Times and work with the Associated Press. Those formative years in journalism gave her sharp writing skills and a deep understanding of media relations.
Caroline proved early on that she could operate in competitive professional environments. Her ability to communicate clearly and manage public narratives would serve her well in the next chapter of her career.
Director of Public Relations at the Boston Symphony Orchestra
In 1980, Caroline joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra as a publicist. Over the following two decades, she worked her way up to become the organization’s Director of Public Relations and Marketing, one of the most senior communications roles in American classical music administration.
In that role, she managed media relations, coordinated publicity campaigns, and helped connect the orchestra’s programming with broader public audiences. Her work contributed to the BSO’s reputation during a competitive era for cultural institutions. She also served as a trusted advisor to Mark Volpe, who served as the BSO’s CEO and President.
Caroline remained professionally affiliated with the orchestra until 2004. Her 24-year tenure made her one of the most enduring communications figures in the organization’s modern history.
BSO Trustee and Ongoing Involvement
After leaving her staff role at the BSO in 2004, Caroline did not step away from the organization entirely. In 2007, she joined the board of overseers, and by September of that same year she began serving as a trustee.
Her trustee role reflects continued commitment to classical music and arts administration even after her formal career concluded. She also sang with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, the BSO’s affiliated choral ensemble, which gave her a direct artistic connection to the institution she long supported from behind the scenes.
Caroline has performed backup vocals with James Taylor at select concerts and events, blending her two worlds of arts administration and live performance. That dual role as both supporter and participant speaks to her genuine love of music beyond the professional sphere.
Caroline Smedvig Husband
Caroline Smedvig met James Taylor for the first time in 1993, at Symphony Hall in Boston. Taylor was performing with the Boston Pops at a concert conducted by John Williams, and Caroline was working on site in her capacity as BSO’s public relations director.
At the time, Taylor was still married to his second wife, actress Kathryn Walker. Both Caroline and James respected that boundary. Their first date took place on July 3, 1995, following Taylor’s divorce from Walker in 1995. That date inspired Taylor’s song “On the 4th of July.”
After six years of dating, the couple married on February 18, 2001, at Lindsey Chapel inside the Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Boston. Their ceremony was attended by approximately 50 close friends and family members. It was James Taylor’s third marriage and Caroline’s second.
Before James, Caroline had been married to Rolf Thorstein Smedvig, the principal trumpeter of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. They married in December 1980 in Albany, New York, at the same time Caroline was beginning her career at the BSO. Their marriage ended in divorce after a few years, and Rolf went on to remarry.
Taylor kept his surname Smedvig from that first marriage, and it is the name by which she remains publicly known. James Taylor has spoken about the importance of maturity in their relationship, publicly saying that men are unlikely to be good partners until after the age of 35.
Caroline Smedvig Children
Caroline and James Taylor welcomed twin sons, Rufus Taylor and Henry Taylor, in April 2001. The boys were born via surrogacy, carried by an unnamed family friend of Taylor’s. The surrogate underwent in vitro fertilization in 2000, and the pregnancy became public knowledge about a month before the twins were born.
Both children have grown up in a household deeply connected to music. Henry Taylor has reportedly performed on stage with his father as a backup singer, continuing the family’s musical tradition into the next generation.
Caroline is also stepmother to James Taylor’s children from his first marriage to Carly Simon: Sally Taylor and Ben Taylor, both of whom have pursued music careers of their own. James and Carly Simon had two children during their marriage from 1972 to 1983.
Caroline Smedvig Net Worth
Caroline Smedvig’s estimated net worth is $1 million as of 2026. Her income over the years came from her journalism work, her senior role in public relations and marketing at the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and her continued involvement as a BSO trustee.
Her husband James Taylor holds a substantially larger fortune, with his net worth reported at approximately $80 million, accumulated through over five decades in the music industry and more than 100 million records sold worldwide. The couple resides in Lenox, Massachusetts.
Caroline and James have also been known for charitable giving. In 2020, they donated $1 million to Massachusetts General Hospital to support healthcare workers. In 2016, they helped raise $2.6 million for the hospital’s cancer center.
Caroline Smedvig Social Media
Caroline Smedvig does not maintain active public accounts on Instagram, Twitter, or other social media platforms. She has consistently chosen to keep her personal life private, and that preference extends to the digital world.
James Taylor, however, maintains an official presence online. Fans can follow his work and updates through his official website at jamestaylor.com and his verified social media channels.
The Bottom Line
Caroline Smedvig spent 24 years at the Boston Symphony Orchestra, rising from publicist to Director of Public Relations and Marketing before transitioning to a trustee role in 2007. Her career in arts administration shaped the public profile of one of America’s most respected orchestral institutions.
She grew up in Albany, New York, as the daughter of a prominent Yale-educated attorney, and carries the values of that background into her quiet, family-centered life in Lenox, Massachusetts. Her first marriage to BSO trumpeter Rolf Smedvig and her second to James Taylor both connect her deeply to the world of professional music.
Today, Caroline remains a trustee of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and continues to appear at select public events alongside James Taylor.
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