Born in Edmonton, Alberta, beloved actor Michael J. Fox (1961–) has lived with Parkinson’s disease (PD) since 1981. Diagnosed at the age of 29, he chose to face the illness with courage, purpose, and his trademark wit. “I keep making that point that I'm highly functional,” he once said. “It's all good.”

Parkinson’s, a degenerative disease first documented by English physician James Parkinson in 1817, affects the nervous system and causes tremors, stiffness, and a loss of balance. It results from the brain’s diminished supply of dopamine, which helps control movement. “It takes 10 times more energy for me to walk across the room than it does for you,” Fox explained.

Despite the progression of PD, Fox’s resilience has never wavered. He turned his personal challenge into a global mission. His advocacy and honesty have made a profound difference, “almost like a moon shot,” he said. The Parkinson's Action Network was renamed the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, which has raised over $2 billion and remains a beacon of awareness and hope.

“It's not for effect and it's not as a circus performer,” he said of his public efforts. “It's for one million others with Parkinson's disease.” Through it all, he has remained a voice of determination, often describing optimism as a powerful tool. He once called the disease a “gift,” though later amended, “OK, if it's a gift, it's a gift that keeps on taking. I'll give you that.”

Even after announcing his retirement from acting in 2020, Fox recently returned to the screen with a role in Season 3 of Shrinking, starring alongside Harrison Ford. And in October 2025, he is releasing a new memoir, Future Boy: Back to the Future and My Journey Through the Space-Time Continuum, offering intimate reflections from his iconic roles and lifelong courage.

Fox joins a powerful circle of individuals—including Muhammad Ali, Billy Graham, and Johnny Cash—who also lived with Parkinson’s. But his journey is uniquely his own: steady, honest, and full of light.

“I don't have a choice about whether or not I have Parkinson's,” Fox said. “But surrounding that one non-choice is an infinite amount of choices I can make.” His life is living proof that even in struggle, there is strength. Even in pain, there is light.