Willie Nelson isn’t slowing down any time soon, per his wife, Annie D’Angelo. The 92-year-old country star’s career launched decades ago, but he continues to play and perform with ageless energy.
“He’s Benjamin Buttoning me,” said D’Angelo in an interview with the New Yorker. The tongue-in-cheek jokes references “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” a film in which Brad Pitt’s character, the titular Benjamin Button, ages in reverse.
“He just keeps going and going,” said the makeup artist, 69, referencing Nelson’s impressive stamina while performing on tour. The singer most recently wrapped up the 2025 Outlaw Music Festival tour in September. The tour featured over 30 stops across the country.
Nelson is in ‘Pretty Good Shape’ Despite Previous Health Scares
Nelson remarked that he is in “pretty good shape, physically, for ninety-two.” Besides singing and performing, he stays in shape with exercises like sit-ups, arm rolls, leg lifts and jogging in place.
He continued, joking that he “woke up again this morning, so that’s good.”
The positive news of Nelson’s health comes after previous scares. The country icon grew gravely ill when he contracted COVID-19 in 2022 at age 89. While Nelson “wanted to die” because of the severity of his illness, D’Angelo informed that if he did, “she would kill him.”
In 1981, Nelson’s lung collapsed when he was swimming in Hawaii. He has emphysema, a chronic lung disease that makes it difficult to breathe and take in oxygen. The singer has also dealt with multiple bouts of pneumonia, which led him to quit smoking tobacco products. He has since undergone cell-stem therapy to better his lung health.
However, Nelson does not let any health mishaps slow him down. The singer continues to sing and perform. His daughter, Amy, noted that while he does not do the prescribed lung exercises that his doctors recommend, he believes that “singing for an hour is good for you.”
Amy remarked that she thinks his singing is “literally keeping him alive.”
D’Angelo Praises Nelson as a ‘Shaman’
D’Angelo praised Nelson’s ability to unite people together, calling the singer a “shaman.” She believes his shows can be “healing.”
“When somebody’s saying hello to somebody without knowing their political ideology, and they’re just enjoying music together, that’s church. That’s healing. That’s really important right now. Really, really important,” she said.
Nelson and D’Angelo married in 1991 and have two sons, Lukas and Micah, who are both musicians. Lukas is in a band of his own, the Promise of the Real, and Micah performs as Particle Kid.
