Michael J. Fox’s life hasn’t been easy lately.
The beloved actor has been battling Parkinson’s disease for decades, and as you can imagine, that battle doesn’t get any easier with time.
But did you know that Michael’s childhood was quite difficult — and he faced serious challenges trying to make it in Hollywood?
Overall, Michael J. Fox’s life has turned out well, despite Parkinson’s disease taking its toll.
First of all, Michael’s upbringing was quite unusual.
He was born on 9 June 1961 in Edmonton, Canada, and grew up with his father, who served in the Canadian Armed Forces, so the family moved around a lot.
Michael’s mother was a payroll clerk, so she had a steady job, but Michael grew up in a typical blue-collar family. Eventually, the family settled in Burnaby, British Columbia, and Michael J. Fox discovered his passion for acting in his early school years.
He joined the drama club at school, and it became clear that he was a talented actor. According to his website, his drama teacher advised him to audition for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation series Leo and Me, and Fox got the part.
He landed several roles on television and at the same time worked at a local theatre in Vancouver. By then, Michael J. Fox had decided that acting was his calling in life. At the age of 17, he packed his bags to pursue his acting career in Los Angeles.
I knew that if I wanted to become someone, I couldn’t just sit on the porch at home and think, ‘God, if only I had been born in the States, and my parents had money, and they didn’t live paycheque to paycheque, I could have done something with my life,’ he said.
Fox dropped out of secondary school, but his parents always supported his big dreams. His father even drove him to Los Angeles. Appearing recently on LIVE with Kelly and Mark, Fox said he still doesn’t know how he managed to convince his father to do that.
“I told him I wanted to go to Los Angeles, I knew I wanted to go to the United States, I knew I wanted to be an actor. My father, I know, thought I was a hippie. He looked me in the eye and said, ‘If you want to be a lumberjack, you’d better go to the woods. So he put me in the car and drove me to California,” recalls Michael J. Fox.
However, achieving success in Tinseltown turned out to be easier than easy. Michael did not have the best starting point: he came from a working-class family and did not have much wealth.
‘I lived in the backyards. I was 18 years old, I had no money, no connections, I literally rummaged through rubbish bins looking for food,’ he said in an interview with Variety in 2023.
So let’s celebrate Michael J. Fox not only for his outstanding talents, but also for his inspiring journey, which continues to inspire countless people around the world.
Fox fulfilled his dream of becoming an actor, and after only a few years, he landed one of the most memorable roles. He was cast as Alex P. Keaton in the comedy series Family Ties, which became one of the most popular comedy series on television.
Shortly thereafter, he landed other roles, including the legendary role of Marty McFly in the film Back to the Future.
In 2022, he revealed that his mother never supported his participation in Back to the Future. And it seems she had good reasons for not supporting him.
When he got the role, he was already working during the day on Family Ties. When he told his mother about the role in the film, she tried to talk him out of it. The actor recalls their exchange: “I was 23 years old, I called her, she was in Canada, and I said, ‘They want me to be in a Steven Spielberg film, but I have to shoot it at night, and during the day I have to do Family Ties. And she replied, “You’ll be too tired.””
Michael J. Fox, circa 1980.
But then he admitted that his mother might have been right: ‘I live for that kind of fatigue. It’ll be fine,’ he told his mother. ‘To this day — well, until two weeks ago — my mum thinks that starring in Back to the Future was a very bad idea for me. She liked the film, but she was right: I was tired.’
He met Tracy Pollan while filming Family Ties. In the series, they played each other’s love interests. At the time, the sparks flew only on screen, but a few years later they would reunite and fall in love.
However, Michael J. Fox was already in love with Tracy while working on Family Ties.
‘I fell in love with her immediately. When she left the show — on the day she left the show — we were standing in the car park getting into our cars. She was getting into a rented Volkswagen, and I was getting into my Ferrari. She called me over and said she wanted to play me a song.’
Actor Michael J. Fox poses for a portrait in 1982 in Los Angeles.
“She played me a James Taylor song called That’s Why I’m Here, which was supposedly dedicated to John Belushi. And one of the lines was: ‘John’s gone, they found him dead, he died high. He’s brown bread, later they said he drowned in his bed.’ After the laughter, a wave of horror washed over us like a ton of lead. That’s why we’re here,” Fox recalled in an interview with NPR.
Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan tied the knot in 1988. They had four children: Sam Michael Fox (born in 1989), twins Shuler Francis and Akinna Kathleen (1995) and Esme Annabelle (2001).
By the way, did you know that Michael Fox didn’t originally have the letter ‘J’ in his name? When he arrived in Hollywood, he tried to join the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), a trade union for film and television workers around the world. However, when he submitted his application, he saw that there was already another member named ‘Michael Fox.’
So Fox added a middle initial to his name, choosing ‘J’ as a sign of respect for his favourite actor, Michael J. Pollard.
Michael J. Fox, holding hands with his wife Tracy Pollan and son Sam, at the Children for Children charity gala.
Michael J. Fox will officially retire from acting in 2020 at the age of 60, having just starred as Louis Canning in the CBS legal drama The Good Fight, a spin-off of The Good Wife, where his character first appeared.
‘I got to the point where I couldn’t rely on my ability to speak on any given day, and that meant I could no longer perform comfortably. So last year, I gave it up,’ he said of his decision to retire, according to Good Morning America.
When Fox was first diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, he reportedly began drinking heavily. Fortunately, he stopped, sought help, and was brave enough to talk about his condition in 1998. Since then, he has been a strong advocate and inspiration to those battling the disease.
Since 2000, the Michael J. Fox Foundation has raised over $750 million to help find a cure for Parkinson’s disease.
Michael J. Fox on the red carpet at Tribeca Talks — Storytellers — 2019 Tribeca Film Festival at BMCC Tribeca PAC on 30 April 2019 in New York City.
Michael J. Fox’s life is a testament to the power of perseverance and resilience.
Despite his humble working-class origins and numerous obstacles along the way, Fox has become an iconic figure in the entertainment industry. His story reminds us that with determination, hard work, and an unwavering passion for our dreams, we can overcome any challenge.
So let’s celebrate Michael J. Fox not only for his outstanding talents, but also for his inspiring journey, which continues to inspire countless people around the world.
