Everybody knows Canadian actor Michael J. Fox. I mean, who could forget his role in the “Back to the Future” series in the ’80s
The 57-year-old actor got his first role in 1976 at the age of 15 (a Canadian sitcom called “Leo and Me”) and went on to star in sitcoms like “Family Ties” and “Spin City.”
Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991 and has fought the disease ever since, personally and also through the foundation he founded. It funds research and develops therapies for those living with Parkinson’s. He’s also a vegetarian. But above all, he is Tracy Pollan’s husband.
The two met more than 30 years ago and got married on July 16, 1988. Together they have four children.
Everybody knows Canadian actor Michael J. Fox. I mean, who could forget his role in the “Back to the Future” series in the ’80s?
The 61-year-old actor got his first role in 1976 at the age of 15 (a Canadian sitcom called “Leo and Me”) and went on to star in sitcoms like “Family Ties” and “Spin City.”
Unfortunately, Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991 and has fought it ever since, personally and also through the foundation he founded.
It funds research and develops therapies for those living with Parkinson’s. He’s also a vegetarian. But above all, he is Tracy Pollan’s husband.
The two met more than 30 years ago and got married on July 16, 1988. Together they have four children.
Michael’s days in the entertainment industry are mostly over, save guest occasional guest appearances on TV and in documentaries.
He met Tracy over 30 years ago when they appeared on the hit NBC comedy “Family Ties” and Tracy played Michael’s on-screen girlfriend, Ellen.
At that moment, nothing happened. But after working together in the movie “Bright Lights, Big City” a few years later, the pair started dating.
Ever since the two have been together. They had their first child 10 months after the wedding. Two years later, Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a progressive neurological disease characterized by mobility problems, stiffness, and shaking.
He was diagnosed at just 29 years old but kept it a secret for 7 years while struggling with very dark thoughts.
From the moment she heard about her husband’s diagnosis in 1991, Pollan has stood right by his side Michael.
”We didn’t know what to expect,” Fox told Sunday TODAY’s Willie Geist in November 2020. ”One of the things I’ll always love Tracy for is that at that moment, she didn’t blink.”
Like many other couples, Michael and Tracy have both similarities and differences. However, one thing that unites them is their positive outlook.
Michael’s upbringing was unusual. He quit high school and then managed to break into the entertainment industry. He was raised in Canada, while Tracy is from New York and studied at the Lee Strasberg Institute. In 2018, the couple gave a major interview in People magazine in celebration of their 30th wedding anniversary.
In the interview, Tracy says they have always supported each other. She says that this is the very basis of their love — and their strong marriage.
“It was us against the world That’s exactly what we’ve created,” she tells People.
When Tracy saw that they were on the cover, she was thrilled. “Our 30-Year Love Story” is the title.
Over the years, Tracy Pollan has been a huge support. And to be honest, we didn’t expect anything else.
“She’s there in the front lines with me every single day. She never pretends to know as much as I know. And the other thing Tracy does is, if there’s something funny, let’s get to the funny. We’ll deal with the tragedy later,” Fox told Today.
Michael writes that he is happy as can be after their 30+ years together.
He officially retired from acting in 2020 at 60 years old and having just starred as Louis Canning in CBS’s legal drama “The Good Fight”, a spin-off to “The Good Wife” where his character first appeared.
“I reached the point where I couldn’t rely on my ability to speak on any given day, which meant I couldn’t act comfortably at all anymore. So, last year I gave it up,” he said of his decision to retire, as per Good Morning America.
Fox’s work to both highlight Parkinson’s and the potential treatments for the disease, setting up the Michael J Fox Foundation, has led him to be named one of the 100 people “whose power, talent or moral example is transforming the world” in 2007 by Time magazine.
His foundation, set up in 2000, is dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease through funded research.
“We created what has become this giant network of patients, scientists, and institutions. We’ve put more than a billion dollars into it,” he said.
When asked about seeing a cure in his lifetime, Fox says, “I’m 60 years old, and science is hard. So, no.”
Yet the father of four and devoted husband to Tracy Pollan, who he married in 1988, remains optimistic saying, “I have things that I’ve been blessed with that are just incredible. Life is rich. Life is good.”
As we all expected, Tracy stands behind her husband in the fight against Parkinson’s disease, and together they work to support research to find a cure. As they say, they have been fused together as one.
I’m really touched by all the obstacles they’ve persevered together. It’s only made them stronger! Share if you’d also like to congratulate this wonderful couple on their anniversary.