Michael J Fox Stays Optimistic despite 'Intense Pain' & Tremors — Actor Says He'd Be 'Dead' without Wife Tracy

• Michael J. Fox is well known for his role as Marty McFly in the sci-fi comedy film franchise, "Back to the Future."
• The actor was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease at 29, which changed his entire life due to the effect it had on his body, career, and family.
• Fox, who recently received an honorary Oscar award, revealed the disease has become a hell to live with, but he is trying to remain positive as he goes on with his work at The Michael J. Fox Foundation.

Michael J. Fox is the iconic actor who played Marty McFly in the sci-fi comedy film franchise, "Back to the Future." He nailed the role despite playing an adolescent when he was already out of his teens.

The actor was 28 when the film sequel "Back to the Future II" was released in 1989. Due to his youthful looks, he successfully played the 17-year-old McFly in "Back to the Future III," despite being almost 30.

Fox was also in his early 20s when he starred in "Family Ties" as a teenage hero. The actor played Alex P. Keaton in the sitcom, an ambitious eldest child of three who wanted to become a billionaire.

In addition to his success in his acting career, Fox has also had a successful marriage. He's been married to his wife, Tracy Pollan, for over three decades.

Pollan and Fox met in the summer of 1985 when the "Teen Wolf" star was auditioning for "Family Ties." Pollan left the sitcom after one season, but she reunited with Fox in 1987 when they filmed "Bright Lights, Big City." The actor asked her out for lunch, and she accepted. The two started dating and got married a year later, on July 16, 1988.

Fox has been blessed with a lovely family but has had to deal with his own fair of challenges when he was diagnosed with an incurable disease.

Despite experiencing immense fame when he starred in "Back to the Future" and "Family Ties," Fox had a difficult youth. He admitted that before he met Pollan, it was "a tough few years."

Talking about the time before he and his wife had become household names, Fox shared:

"We didn't have a lot of money. I was dumpster diving because I knew the grocery store would throw out baked goods."

He mentioned that he would steal jam and other such things at restaurants like IHOP. However, it didn't take long before he was rich and famous.

Fox was Diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease

Fox was diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disorder in 1991. He later revealed that he's been dealing with Parkinson's disease. The actor was diagnosed with the disease at 29, and doctors told him then that he only had ten more years to work.

Fox said it was getting harder and "tougher" each day to live with Parkinson’s disease.

It all began when the actor noticed a twitch in his left pinkie when shooting "Doc Hollywood." After undergoing tests, he received the diagnosis that changed his life. "It was incomprehensible," he said.

The disease progressed and affected his body further as the whole of his left side experienced stiffness and tremors. Fox's left arm would also shake violently. Parkinson's disease has no known cause or cure, and it affects the central nervous system such that some patients cannot walk, talk, or care for themselves.

When Fox was diagnosed with the disease, he was so devastated and affected that he became an alcoholic to dissociate. He popped dopamine pills and used props for his left hand to hide the illness.

The actor had only been married for three years, and his firstborn was a toddler when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

In 1998, Fox underwent a highly risky brain surgery to alleviate the symptoms of Parkinson's. The surgery eased the symptoms on his left, but his right side started experiencing tremors. He decided not to have surgery again after that.

Fox also underwent spinal surgery in 2018 after he was diagnosed with a spinal tumor unrelated to Parkinson’s disease. He noted that had the tumor not been removed, he would have been paralyzed.

After this surgery was a success, Fox, who is also an author, had to learn to walk again. During this learning process, he fell in the kitchen while walking down the hallway of his apartment and shattered his arm.

The actor, who had chosen to remain optimistic about his health, was angered by the incident. "But the arm was the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak. The arm was just one insult too many," he lamented.

Fox slowly regained his optimism and wrote the book "Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist." He also noted that his optimism and faith are what helped him run his Parkinson's research and advocacy organization, The Michael J. Fox Foundation.

The foundation is over 20 years old and has funded over $1 billion in research. Hundreds of scientists work in the foundation, which operates in 20 countries and has done 60 clinical studies. Todd Sherer, the foundation's chief executive officer, said:

"The attention Michael has brought to Parkinson's research has sparked a complete revolution. Pharmaceutical companies are more focused than ever on finding treatments quickly, and curing PD is job one for some of the best minds in neuroscience."

Even as his organization searches for a cure, Fox said he had accepted his condition, which has given him the freedom to do other things and be happy:

"It doesn't mean you can't endeavor to change, but you have to accept the reality of something and say, this is a fact. This is an actual thing I have to deal with."

As much as Fox now has renewed optimism and acceptance, he noted that he used to avoid watching his younger self on TV because, back then, he was healthier and showed no signs of Parkinson's' disease.

The actor said the disease forced him to change his perspective on acting. He now focuses on smaller roles he can be proud of, such as his character on "Stuart Little."

As for his family life, Fox said his wife was his ultimate source of motivation to go on with life. His family had been the key to the actor coping successfully with Parkinson’s disease.

Fox's Family Has Supported Him Through His Decades-Long Battle with Parkinson's

Fox and Pollan have four children together, Sam Michael Fox, 33, twin daughters Schuyler Frances Fox, 28, and Aquinnah Kathleen Fox, 28, and daughter Esmé Annabelle Fox, 21.

Sam was born on May 30, 1989, and he loves traveling. Fox's twin daughters were born on February 15, 1995. Aquinnah works as an assistant at Annapurna Pictures, while Schuyler is an associate producer at FableVision.

Esmé was born on November 3, 2001. In 2019, Fox was excited to share the news that their youngest daughter was officially leaving home.

The actor, his wife, and four kids are a tight-knit family. However, Fox revealed that when he was diagnosed with Parkison's disease, Pollan was reluctant to have more kids. He added that the diagnosis marked the toughest time in their marriage.

The "Annie" actor disclosed that his wife only accepted to expand their family when she finally "trusted me enough to have more kids with me."

As per Pollan, the couple has been able to stand by each other despite the challenges because they assume the best of one another. Pollan revealed that if Fox were to be mean to her, she would always try to place herself in his shoes to understand him:

"My first assumption is not that he's not being unkind to me. It's that something else was going on. And he does the same with me. It's assuming the best from the person you live with until you are actually presented with the worst."

Pollan also noted that they use the same approach in parenting. The couple has raised successful children whom they are proud of. Their eldest, Sam, oversees Fox's social media accounts and helps him deal with online bullies.

On one occasion, when an online troll said something negative about Parkinson's to Fox on Twitter, he turned to Sam, who helped him create a smart reply. The troll ended up apologizing to the actor.

Fox said his kids have also motivated him to take up acting roles. He noted that his kids urged him to accept reprising his iconic "Back to the Future" role in a trailer for Lil Nas X's Christmas song, "Holiday."

However, Fox said his kids do not watch his movies as his daughters are more excited about trendier things. When they were young, they would read magazines about One Direction and would ignore their father's stories about his younger years.

Fox is happy his son, unlike his daughters, gets his acting career and understands everything about filmmakers and films.

Fox, who is grateful for his family, said that during the COVID-19 lockdown, he would spend time with his "wonderful children" and "great wife." He added that he "can't believe I have this happy life," in reference to his family.

The actor also noted that they enjoy doing many things together, such as traveling and dining. His kids love to eat a lot, while their mother loves to cook.

He also hilariously suggested that his kids do not find him funny. "They roll their eyes and think we tell stupid mom and dad jokes," he admitted.

All in all, Fox said his family is affectionate and their favorite ritual is to go up to the country, make popcorns, and climb onto one bed to watch movies, laugh, and enjoy each other's company.

When asked what he learned about being a father while battling an incurable disease, the actor said fatherhood had taught him that time is never frozen:

"Same with raising kids. There are no moments you have frozen in amber. It's moving, it's changing, so appreciate what's good about right now and be ready for what's next."

He added that his children are learning a lot of things that they wouldn't have known if he didn't have Parkinson's disease, including the values of empathy and resilience.

On Mother's Day in 2022, Fox shared a picture of his amazing family and praised his wife for all the work she has done as a mother:

"Our children are beautiful, sensitive, intelligent, empathetic, independent, compassionate, adventurous, lovely people. That's your fault. We all love you so much. Happy Mother's Day."

The "Saving Milly" actor has also previously said his wife is his rock, best friend, and a cool person with a sense of humor. "She's honest, affectionate, kind, smart, and she's just there in a pinch. She's beautiful, and I love her, and she's sexy and gorgeous," he added.

Fox also said the secret to their long and happy marriage lies in keeping their fights clean and sex dirty. He added that they have lots of fun as a couple by scheduling date nights where they go out for a movie or dinner.

Fox said Parkison's Disease Was Taking a Toll on Him

As much as his happy marriage has lasted decades, Fox has now revealed that he is going through a much harder time due to his battle with Parkinson’s disease. In a recent interview, the actor said the condition was a gift that kept on taking from him.

"It sucks having Parkinson's. For some families, some people, it's a nightmare. It's a living hell. They have to deal with realities that are beyond most people's understandings."

He revealed that as much as he managed to handle the illness so far, it was taking a toll on him. It was getting harder and "tougher" each day to live with Parkinson’s disease.

In his upcoming documentary "Still," he shared that while his tremors are visible to fans, the pain he experiences is something he can't even truly explain.

He mentioned that each tremor felt like a "seismic jolt" and he confessed he has been in "intense pain" for many years. He also explained:

"It’s not so much pain from the movement, but from the not moving. It’s when you freeze, and in that freezing that not-movement becomes infused with all this energy and it becomes this burning, impending thing that never happens."

The author of "Lucky Man: A Memoir" said he had been getting more tremors and slurred speech. He also disclosed his mobility issues have gotten worse as he was always falling and breaking both his arms, elbows, face, and hands:

"It's falling and aspirating food and getting pneumonia. All these subtle ways that gets ya'. You don't die from Parkinson's; you die with Parkinson's. I'm not gonna be 80. I'm not gonna be 80."

Amidst the tough times, laughter and humor have kept Fox going. His skills in gratitude and optimism have given him aspects of life to look forward to despite his incurable illness.

Fox's fans reacted with love and support to the actor's recent interview and said, "It's so sad. I cried watching the video." Another fan agreed that the video made him tear up. The fan said they wished the actor lots of positive energy. One user commented:

"So sad, you can see he's getting tired and fed up. He's a real champion and done so much for awareness as well as research of this devastating disease."

The actor's fans admitted they loved watching his movies and wished him well. "Fox is so brave to share this in public and help advance the cure for Parkinson's," another individual added.

Fans also said Fox was an absolute legend and a brave man for battling with the disease while trying to remain optimistic about life. One person noted:

"So sad to see him struggling, but he seems to be pretty positive overall, which is a hell of a lot better than I'd be dealing with it. God bless Mr. Fox."

Fox has continued to do a great job in his career and foundation as much as his strength and ability are under suppression by Parkinson's disease.

On November 19, 2022, the actor received an honorary Oscar at the 13th Annual Governors Awards. He was honored with a standing ovation when receiving his award.

The "Poison Ivy" actor was awarded the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, which is given to people whose humanitarian actions bring credit to the entertainment industry. The actor got this award due to his work with his foundation.

Fox and Pollan now spend most of their time talking about Parkinson's disease and raising awareness of the work The Michael J. Fox Foundation does in regard to the incurable illness.

The couple was last seen hosting Fox's foundation charity dinner on April 2023, which is Parkinson's Awareness Month. The dinner was attended by some of the biggest stars of country music.

They are happy in their marriage and once when asked how his wife was, Fox sweetly replied: "Married to me ... still." He also confessed he'd be "dead" without his wife.

Fox, who is now retired from acting, has dedicated his foundation to research, the creation of improved therapies, and scientific discoveries that will help an estimated five million people living with Parkinson's disease today.