Michael J. Fox was born on June 9, 1961, as Michael Andrew Fox in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He is the son of Phyllis, an actress and payroll clerk and William Fox, who was a police officer. Michael attended Burnaby Central Secondary School.
He first gained popularity in his role as Alex P. Keaton in the American TV sitcom Family Ties that aired from 1982-1989. He won three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award for the role. His role as Deputy Mayor Mike Flaherty in Spin City, which aired from 1996-2000, also brought him another Emmy and three more Golden Globe awards as well as two Screen Actors Guild Awards.
In 1998 Michael J. Fox announced that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease back in 1991 and was forced to semi-retire from being an actor in 2000 as his condition had grown worse. Since being diagnosed he has been a strong advocate for medical research to find a cure for the disease.
Before his move to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting, Fox co-starred in the Canadian show Leo and Me when still at the young age of fifteen.
Once in the United States he discovered that Michael Fox was already registered with the Screen Actors Guild and so he added the “J” in his name, an act which was inspired by actor Michael J. Pollard.
His big acting break in the states became available when Matthew Broderick turned down the role as Alex P. Keaton for the new TV sitcom Family Ties. Initially the show was supposed to be focused on the “hip” parents, but after just the 4th episode the reaction was so great around the Alex character that Michael J. Fox was moved to the forefront of the sitcom and the show enjoyed seven popular seasons on NBC.
Fox had a string of major motion picture hits starting with the iconic, Back To The Future, where he played a time traveling teen. The film was released on July 4, 1985, and Back to the Future became number one at the box office for 11 weeks while earning $381.11 million worldwide. He starred in a string of other box office hits including a Back To The Future Two, Teen Wolf, The Secret To My Success and many other great films over his very successful TV and movie acting career.
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