June 9, 1961
Michael J. Fox was born, in Canada.
He first became known for his role as Alex P. Keaton
on the popular sitcom Family Ties, and went on to star in such films as Back
to the Future and Teen Wolf as well as the TV series Spin City.
In 1999, he announced that he was battling Parkinson's Disease. He left Spin
City in 2000 but later guest starred on such shows as Scrubs and Boston
Legal.
Quotes
My happiness grows in direct proportion to my
acceptance, and in inverse proportion to my expectations.
– Michael J. Fox
Actor. Born Michael Andrew Fox, on June 9, 1961, in
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Fox began using the middle initial 'J' (presumably
smoother-sounding than 'A') professionally to distinguish himself from another
acting "Michael Fox." Michael J. Fox first achieved stardom in 1982,
as the acquisitive Reagan-era poster-boy Alex P. Keaton on the popular
television sitcom Family Ties.
Hailing from Canada, where he grew up the youngest of five children to Bill and
Phyllis Fox, Michael struggled in school and was too small - he is five feet,
four inches tall - to compete in his favorite activity, ice hockey. He found an
outlet in drama class, and in 1976 made his professional debut in the CBS
series Leo and Me at age 15 (playing a 10-year-old). After starring in
the CBS movie Letters from Frank (also filmed in Canada), Fox dropped
out of high school and drove to Los Angeles with his father. There, he found
work in the series Palmerstown, U.S.A. before landing the role in Family
Ties, where he wooed audiences with his confident charm and impeccable
comic timing for seven years.
He also had enormous success on the big screen,
playing Marty McFly in Robert Zemeckis' zany romp, Back to the Future (1985). After
playing comic roles in Teen Wolf and The Secret of My Success,
Fox wanted to broaden his range and took some unlikely dramatic turns, playing
a factory worker in Light of Day, a cocaine-snorting fact checker in Bright
Lights, Big City, and earning critical acclaim for his starring role
alongside Sean Penn in Brian DePalma's Vietnam saga Casualties of War.
Audiences applauded Fox's return to Back to the
Future, for sequels II and III in 1989 and 1990. His pitch-perfect
portrayal of a George Stephanopoulos-type character in The American President (1995)
earned Fox accolades once again, but it was his ceremonious return to prime
time television in the ABC sitcom Spin City, which launched in 1996,
that put Fox back where he belonged - delighting audiences on a weekly basis
with a schedule that allowed him more time with his family. In 1999, he
contributed his trademark voice and comic flare as the title character (a
little white mouse) in the film adaptation of E.B. White's
Stuart Little. Fox was honored with a star on the fabled Hollywood Walk
of Fame in December 2002.
Battle with Parkinson's
Disease
In late 1999, Fox made the startling announcement that
he had been battling Parkinson's disease since 1991, and had even undergone
brain surgery to alleviate tremors. Despite Spin City's incredible
success and a showering of Emmy and Golden Globe awards, Fox announced in early
2000 that he would leave the show, which he also executive produced, to spend
time with his family, and to concentrate on raising money and awareness for
Parkinson's disease - including the May 2000 launch of the Michael J. Fox
Foundation for Parkinson's Research. Fox won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his
final season on Spin City, along with the respect and support of the
entire Hollywood community.
In 2004, Fox guest starred in the television comedy Scrubs as Dr. Kevin
Casey, a surgeon with obsessive-compulsive disorder. In 2006, he appeared in a
recurring role on the drama Boston Legal. Fox was nominated for an Emmy
Award for best guest appearance. In 2009, he appeared on the dark drama, Rescue
Me, and his television special Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an
Incurable Optimist, based on his best-selling book by the same title, aired
on ABC.
Fox married the actress Tracy Pollan (who played Ellen, Alex Keaton's
girlfriend, on Family Ties) in 1988. The couple has four children: son
Sam, twin girls Aquinnah and Schuyler, and daughter Esmé Annabelle.
Stay Tuned
Tony Figueroa
June 9, 1961
Michael J. Fox was born, in Canada.
He first became known for his role as Alex P. Keaton on the popular sitcom Family Ties, and went on to star in such films as Back to the Future and Teen Wolf as well as the TV series Spin City. In 1999, he announced that he was battling Parkinson's Disease. He left Spin City in 2000 but later guest starred on such shows as Scrubs and Boston Legal.
Quotes
My happiness grows in direct proportion to my
acceptance, and in inverse proportion to my expectations.
– Michael J. Fox
He also had enormous success on the big screen,
playing Marty McFly in Robert Zemeckis' zany romp, Back to the Future (1985). After
playing comic roles in Teen Wolf and The Secret of My Success,
Fox wanted to broaden his range and took some unlikely dramatic turns, playing
a factory worker in Light of Day, a cocaine-snorting fact checker in Bright
Lights, Big City, and earning critical acclaim for his starring role
alongside Sean Penn in Brian DePalma's Vietnam saga Casualties of War.
Audiences applauded Fox's return to Back to the
Future, for sequels II and III in 1989 and 1990. His pitch-perfect
portrayal of a George Stephanopoulos-type character in The American President (1995)
earned Fox accolades once again, but it was his ceremonious return to prime
time television in the ABC sitcom Spin City, which launched in 1996,
that put Fox back where he belonged - delighting audiences on a weekly basis
with a schedule that allowed him more time with his family. In 1999, he
contributed his trademark voice and comic flare as the title character (a
little white mouse) in the film adaptation of E.B. White's
Stuart Little. Fox was honored with a star on the fabled Hollywood Walk
of Fame in December 2002.
Battle with Parkinson's
Disease
Tony Figueroa
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