Michael J. Fox, who retired from society after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at age 29, says he is now “excited” to become an activist through his foundation, which was recognized at the Social Impact Summit.
Harrison Ford and Michael J. Fox reunite at Social Impact Summit
Harrison Ford and Michael J. Fox attend the 3rd Annual Social Impact Summit held at the DGA Theater in Los Angeles on July 22, 2026.
LOS ANGELES – When 29-year-old Michael J. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease just as his acting career was in full swing, everything else suddenly seemed “ridiculous.”
More than a decade after arriving in Hollywood at the age of 17, Foxx decided to shift his focus from doing well in auditions, realizing he had a “unique opportunity to make a difference and do something bigger than just telling jokes.”
“I think about 19-year-olds and 17-year-old kids who want to be rich and famous and change the world and be the big ‘it’ thing,” the 65-year-old told USA TODAY. “And when you start looking for a cure for a disease, that becomes completely foolish.”
“What used to be a boring and cumbersome point has now become a lever for operating a larger machine,” he added.
On July 22, the actor’s Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Disease Research was one of three honorees at The Hollywood Reporter and Social Impact Fund’s third annual Social Impact Summit, along with John Mayer’s Veterans Health Heart and Armor Foundation and Stephen Curry and Ayesha Curry’s Eat. learn. play. Foundation.
Fox and its foundation CEO Deborah W. Brooks spoke to USA TODAY backstage before Shrinking co-star Harrison Ford presented them with the Philanthropy of the Year award.
“These recognitions are always humbling,” Fox said. “It’s a lot of attention for our foundation and a lot of attention for the progress we’ve made.”
The honor, which follows its 19th Emmy nomination, comes courtesy of the Social Impact Fund, a nonprofit organization that “helps overcome common administrative barriers” to philanthropy in the entertainment industry and other fields by providing “legal structure” to organizations, including those pending tax-exempt status.
Since 2000, his foundation has reportedly provided $3 billion in funding for Parkinson’s disease research, while also successfully advocating for resources at the federal level and advancing breakthrough scientific discoveries such as “critical” spinal fluid testing for patients exhibiting symptoms of the neurodegenerative disease. Ultimately, they are working towards the goal of eradicating the disease “in our lifetime.”
“What we’re doing is not happening to them or for them,” Fox says of people with Parkinson’s symptoms. “That’s what’s going on between them.”
How Michael J. Fox went from hiding his Parkinson’s disease to being ‘part of the answer’
Fox didn’t always accept her diagnosis, which came to light in 1991 when she noticed a tremor in her little finger. It took time for Ford to become, as he described his co-star in an onstage speech, “the most stubborn optimist I know.” But by the time he opened up about his chronic illness to the world, he had a revelation: “I want to be part of the answer.”
Parkinson’s disease, the fastest-growing neurodegenerative disease in the United States, is an incurable brain disease and a progressive disease that “causes involuntary or uncontrollable movements, such as tremors, stiffness, and difficulty with balance and coordination,” according to the National Institute on Aging.
“I got diagnosed and I hid for seven years and didn’t tell anyone about it, and when it occurred to me that I might go public with this disease, my wife[Tracy Pollan]and myself weighed it and talked about it a lot,” Fox says. “Then I realized this was a unique opportunity.”
Less than a decade after being diagnosed, the “Family Ties” actor has embraced the role of being the face of Parkinson’s disease.
“If you had told me at 17 years old that I would be famous as an advocate for the disease I was diagnosed with, I would have loved it,” Fox says.
Brooks, the foundation’s CEO, is similarly proud of Fox’s influence.
“I remember him saying to me on my first day, ‘People might come here just for me, and your job is to build something that brings them back,'” Brooks says. “Objectively, we haven’t cured Parkinson’s disease, but a lot has been accomplished. … Today, the field has changed from where it was when we started. It’s not all about us, but it has a lot to do with almost everything we do. It keeps us motivated.”
Fox’s expletive-filled motto for Parkinson’s patients
“Science is hard,” Fox quips, but beyond finding a cure, he wants to give “a voice and a presence to the patient community.”
“They’re scared to death,” he says. “It’s a strange diagnosis that rocks your world.”
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the average age of people with Parkinson’s disease is in their early to mid-60s. A “few percent” of people diagnosed have early-onset Parkinson’s disease, which begins before age 50. Symptoms of progressive movement disorders usually include tremors, muscle stiffness, balance problems, and slowness of movement.
Parkinson’s disease has taken its toll on the “Back to the Future” star for decades. He developed and recovered from alcoholism while receiving his initial diagnosis. He broke many bones. “I’m in constant pain,” he confessed in the 2023 documentary Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie.
When asked about the representation of Parkinson’s patients in Hollywood, Fox pointed to Apple TV’s “Shrinking,” which features an ensemble cast with the motto “f— Parkinson’s” as Ford therapist Dr. Paul Rose, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in season one. (Fox plays a patient named Jerry, who eventually becomes part of Paul’s journey.)
“For a long time, I’ve been saying, ‘Fuck vanity,'” Foxx says, repeating Paul’s refrain. It’s not a matter of vanity. It’s not a matter of appearance. And that’s something that helps patients move forward in their minds. They say, “This is what it is.” ”
