Michael J. Fox knew publicly revealing his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis would change his life. He also knew the decision would affect the person who had been beside him through it all.
The “Back to the Future” star recently reflected on his decision to go public with his diagnosis and how difficult the increased attention was for his wife, Tracy Pollan.
“It was hell on Tracy, it was really hard on her, and it still is because it’s always changing,” Fox told The Hollywood Reporter.
GettyFox was diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson’s disease in 1991 at age 29. He kept the diagnosis private for seven years while continuing to work, including starring on “Spin City.” During those years, Fox also became sober after previously turning to alcohol while struggling to cope with his diagnosis.
When Fox and Pollan eventually decided he would reveal his condition publicly in 1998, the actor knew he did not want to simply make an announcement and retreat from the conversation.
“I said to her, ‘I have to go all the way here. No half measures,’” Fox recalled telling his wife.
For Fox, that meant allowing people to see the realities of Parkinson’s, even when doing so required giving up some of the privacy that he and his family had maintained for years.
Michael J. Fox Says He Had to Stop Hiding His Parkinson’s
Fox told The Hollywood Reporter that he became increasingly aware of how different his circumstances were from those of many other people living with Parkinson’s.
“I started to understand what it was like for these people who didn’t have the options or the choices I had, didn’t have the connections and the reason to be optimistic,” he said.
That realization helped shape his decision to become an outspoken advocate.
“I needed to normalize it and just be that all the time,” Fox said. “I said, ‘I have to not hide this. F— vanity.’”
His commitment went beyond interviews. Fox testified before the U.S. Senate without taking his Parkinson’s medication beforehand, allowing lawmakers to see the physical effects of the disease as he pushed for greater research efforts.
He was also curious about how other Parkinson’s patients viewed his sudden visibility. According to Entertainment Weekly, Fox anonymously entered online chat rooms after going public to see what people with the disease were saying about him.
Their excitement initially surprised him.
“I thought, ‘Well, f— you! I have Parkinson’s and you’re celebrating,’” Fox recalled.
Eventually, he understood the significance. Fox said people at the time “would never in a million years tell you they had Parkinson’s,” and his disclosure gave the disease a highly recognizable public face.
In 2000, he launched the Michael J. Fox Foundation, which has since become a major force in funding Parkinson’s research.
Tracy Pollan Has Been by Michael J. Fox’s Side for Decades
GettyFox’s latest comments come shortly after he and Pollan marked another major milestone together.
The couple celebrated their 38th wedding anniversary on July 16, per earlier report. Fox commemorated the occasion on Instagram, writing, “Every day is a holiday, and anniversaries are even better.”
Their story began years before Fox’s Parkinson’s diagnosis. The two first met in 1985 when Pollan played the girlfriend of Fox’s character, Alex P. Keaton, on “Family Ties.” They later reconnected while working on the 1988 film “Bright Lights, Big City” and married that same year. They share four children: Sam, twins Aquinnah and Schuyler, and Esmé.
Pollan has previously said that one key to their lasting marriage is taking things “one day at a time.” The couple has also spoken about listening to each other, giving each other space and finding reasons to laugh.
Those principles have remained part of a marriage that has also navigated more than three decades of Fox living with a progressive disease.
For Fox, the foundation of their relationship ultimately comes down to something straightforward.
“It is all about acceptance.”
