Inside Richard Simmons’ Last Health Update Before His Death at Age 76: ‘I Feel Good’

Richard Simmons died at the age of 76, just one day after he celebrated his birthday. Fans were shocked to learn of his passing as the pop culture icon had been incredibly active on social media in recent months. However, he’d given Closer an exclusive update on his health in March.

‘I feel good,” Richard said on March 21. “But now all I see are beautiful bright rainbows. Say hello to your viewers for me and thank them for their concern.”

On March 19, Richard revealed that he’d been diagnosed with skin cancer several years prior. The former aerobics instructor had noticed a small bump on his eye and went to the doctor to check it out, and that’s when he got the news.

“I sat in his chair and he looked at it through a magnifying mirror,” Richard wrote at the time. “He told me he would have to scrape it and put it under the microscope. Now I am getting a little bit nervous. He comes back about 20 minutes later and says the C word. You have cancer. I asked him what kind of cancer and he said. Basel [sic] Cell Carcinoma. I told him to stop calling me dirty names. He laughed.”

The Louisiana native revealed that it took three attempts for the doctors to remove the cancer, but in the end it was successful. Richard followed up with a message to fans on March 21.

“The reason I wrote these two messages is that if you see a spot on your body please go to your doctor … so they can diagnose it right away,” Richard shared.

The fitness guru had stepped away from the spotlight a decade earlier and hadn’t made any public appearances since 2014. His absence from the public eye had resulted in fans speculating on his whereabouts and his health. In 2016, a rumor spread that Richard was being held hostage by his housekeeper, and he reached out in an audio interview on Today to assure fans that he was fine.

“No one is holding me in my house as a hostage,” Richard told Today host Savannah Guthrie. You know I do what I want to do as I’ve always done, so people should sort of just believe what I have to say because, like, I’m Richard Simmons!”

Richard’s housekeeper called authorities around 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 13. When police arrived, they discovered Richard unresponsive and he was later declared dead. The following day, his brother updated fans via Richard’s social media account on X.

“I don’t want people to be sad about my brother,” Lenny Simmons wrote on Sunday, July 14. “I want them to remember him for the genuine joy and love he brought to people’s lives. He truly cared about people. He called, wrote, and emailed thousands of people throughout his career to offer help.”

Lenny continued, “So don’t be sad. Celebrate his life! He was very excited about all of the upcoming ventures he was working on. We are in shock. Please respect the family at this difficult time. Lenny Simmons.”