Speaking of relationships between celebrities, the first thing that comes to our mind is, well, that they don’t last long. Every marriage anniversary is a special occasion, but when it comes to Hollywood, these celebrations are even more special because they are rare.
When they first met on the set of Family Ties, Michael J.Fox and Tracy Pollan didn’t probably assume that their off-screen relationship would outlast that of 19-year-old teen Alex and the brainy dancer Ellen Reed, the characters they played on the show.
Michael J. Fox was in his late twenties when he was diagnosed with the Parkinson’s disease. It was short after he and Tracy got married and had their first child.
Tracy never left her husband’s side and is his biggest support. The two are doing their best to cope with Michael’s condition and are working hard on raising funds for finding cure for Parkinson’s disease.
The couple’s four children, Esme, 20, Aquinnah and Schuyler, identical twins, 27 years old, and Sam, 33, all lead a much quieter lives than those of their parents. In fact, only Sam owns an account accessible to everyone on Instagram where he often shares photos of his dad and his family and he’s the spitting image of Michael.
All of Michael’s kids are very supportive and never miss a chance to accompany their father on meaningful events related to raising awareness about Parkinson’s disease.
What we love about this family is that they use every occasion to remind one another how much they love each other.
Recently, Michael shared a photo of his twins and wrote, “Twice the love, a hundred times the laughs. Happy birthday to my gorgeous girls today. I love you so much.”
In an interview amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Michael spoke of how his family spent the days as they all relocated to Long Island to be under one roof. “We were typically linger-after-dinner sorts anyhow, and now we were lingering and discussing about what people were going through. Putting together jigsaw puzzles, seeing Tracy cook up a storm, and interacting with the other guests, including these incredible kids and this great lady. I find it difficult to accept that this is my life.”
Michael’s kids shared some heart-breaking news recently. In September, 2022, Michael’s mother, Phyllis Piper, passed away. She was 92.
During a panel which celebrated the iconic movie Back to the Future, Michael joked that his mother believed he shouldn’t have filmed that movie because at the time he did Family Ties during the day and she though he would be too tired to be filming another movie during the night.
“To this day – well, till two weeks ago – my mother thought it was a really bad idea for me to do Back to the Future. She loved the movie, [but she was right], I got tired,” Michael said.
“My mum had a long and fulfilling life. “There was no more revered woman,” Fox, 61, said. “She was a lovely lady. You were confident that you would be treated fairly. And she loved to laugh—she laughed all the time.”
When Phyllis learned of her son’s Parkinson’s disease diagnosis, she was very concerned.
“I was still working TV and movies and establishing a family when I launched the foundation,” Michael recalled. “When she questioned how I did it all, I told her, ‘I just go forward,’ he said of his mom. “I’m not interested in taking stock or lamenting that something isn’t going to happen. My mum was the same way. She’d never calculate the losses. She’d consider the benefits.”
Michael’s father was part of the military and it was Phyllis who took care of her children when her husband was deployed. She was the one who kept the family together.
“Army wives are adaption masters,” Michael said. “They just know how to handle a new scenario, get the house together, get the schools set up, get a job on the side — since military money is nothing. We didn’t get it as youngsters. Now I understand.”
The actor is doing all in his power to stay optimistic. “If I can find thankfulness in anything I do and whatever scenario I’m in if I can find one little thing to be grateful for, it turns the whole situation around and allows for the possibility of grace, of something great happening,” the actor says. “I’m just getting back into that groove, so it’s very good.”
We wish this beautiful family only the best life brings.
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