Michael J. Fox gained worldwide recognition beginning in 1982 on the NBC sitcom Family Ties and continued his rise to fame for the next four decades.
The Back to the Future star was born in Alberta, Canada, in June 1961 and began his acting career at the age of 16 in the Canadian TV series Leo and Me. After making the move to Los Angeles in 1979, Fox landed his breakthrough role in the sitcom Family Ties, which aired from 1982 to 1989. The Stuart Little star’s role of “Young Republican” Alex P. Keaton earned him three Emmy awards in 1986, 1987 and 1989.
“I was still pretty fresh off being an 11th grade dropout,” Fox told PBS in a May 2023 interview. “Literally, in three years, I go from being the kid stuffed in lockers to having a conversation with Steven Spielberg about doing his next movie. Doesn’t happen.”
During his time while filming Family Ties, Fox met his future wife, Tracy Pollan, while on set. The pair tied the knot in 1988 and welcomed four children – son Samuel in 1989, twins Aquinnah and Schuyler in 1995 and daughter Esmé in 2001.
Fox was later diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991, news he publicly revealed eight years later. While he retired from acting in 2020, he has continued to be an advocate for Parkinson’s and even launched an eponymous foundation.
Keep scrolling for a look back at Fox’s life and career over the years:
1961
Fox was born in Alberta, Canada, in June 1961, however, his family lived in different cities growing up because of his father’s career as a police dispatcher. Due to encouragement from his theater teacher, the Good Wife alum auditioned and starred in the Canadian TV series Leo and Me at the age of 16. Two years later, Fox moved to Los Angeles to further pursue his acting career.
1982
Nearly three years after his move to Los Angeles, Fox made his television debut in the U.S. on the NBC sitcom Family Ties.
“I was a jerk. You just want to slap me,” Fox recalled his behavior on set of Family Ties in his 2023 Still documentary. “You just want to go, ‘Shut up, sit down, have a Diet Coke and relax and sit in the corner.’”
1985
Fox played Marty McFly in Back to the Future and because of its popularity, two more sequels were made. That same year, the Secret of My Success star appeared in Teen Wolf, which became another commercial success.
1988
The Canada native married his Family Ties costar in July 1988 and welcomed son Samuel, twin daughters Aquinnah and Schyler and Esmé in 1989, 1995 and 2001, respectively.
“Tracy gives our family everything that we need,” Fox said during the premiere of Still in March 2023. “Any good in our family, anything good that we do, comes from her.”
1991
While filming Doc Hollywood, Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at the age of 29.
“I didn’t know what was happening. I didn’t know what was coming. So what if I could just have four glasses of wine and maybe a shot?,” the actor said in the 2023 documentary. “I was definitely an alcoholic. But I’ve gone 30 years without having a drink.”
1996
Amid his battle with Parkinson’s, Fox starred in the ABC show Spin City, which won him an Emmy award in 2000. He announced he was leaving the show during its fourth season.
1998
Nearly eight years after his diagnosis, the Boston Legal star came forward about his Parkinson’s diagnosis.
“It was seven or eight years after I had been diagnosed … [and] the paparazzi and stuff, they would stand outside my apartment and heckle at me, like ‘What’s the matter with you?’” Fox recalled in an October 2021 interview with Entertainment Tonight. “I said, ‘I can’t be making my neighbors deal with this,’ so I came out, and it was great. It was a great thing.”
2000
Fox founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation to try and find a cure for Parkinson’s disease. The foundation has raised over $1.75 billion dollars to date.
2002
The Scrubs actor wrote his first book, Lucky Man: A Memoir, and subsequently wrote three more novels in 2009, 2010 and 2020.
2009 to 2010
Fox starred in five episodes of Rescue Me, which earned him an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. The Spin City star also began his guest starring role of Louis Canning on The Good Wife from 2010 to 2016.
2020
The Designated Survivor actor revealed that he was stopping his acting career after issues with his speech and memorizing his lines.
“I thought of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, there’s a scene where Leonardo DiCaprio’s character can’t remember his lines anymore,” Fox told Empire magazine in a May 2023 interview. “He just goes back to his dressing room and he’s screaming at himself in the mirror. Just freaking insane. I had this moment where I was looking in the mirror and thought, ‘I cannot remember it anymore. Well, let’s move on.’ It was peaceful.”
2023
Fox released his documentary, Still, in May 2023 on Apple TV which discussed his career and battle with Parkinson’s.