Michael J. Fox Opens Up About
In 1991, at age 29, Michael J. Fox was diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson’s disease,
a condition that threatened the physical precision behind his success in Back to the Future and Family Ties.
Parkinson’s is a progressive neurological disorder caused by the loss of dopamine-producing neurons,
leading to tremor, rigidity, and slowed movement.
For seven years, Fox hid his diagnosis while continuing to act, later choosing public honesty.
In 2000, he founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation, turning a personal crisis into global
advocacy that accelerated research, clinical trials, and patient-centered care.
Now in his mid-60s, Fox speaks candidly about falls and limitations,
guided by what he calls “realistic optimism.”
His journey reframed Parkinson’s from stigma to shared purpose.
As he reflects in No Time Like the Future,
meaning is found not in defeating adversity, but in learning how to live fully alongside it.
