UnTouchableMichael J. Fox on being told at 29 that he had Parkinson's
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Michael J. Fox shared this about their own health, publicly. Everything below is written in our own words, from the sources listed at the end.
Michael J. Fox has talked publicly for years about being told, at 29, that he had Parkinson's disease.
In a radio interview with Howard Stern he described his first reaction as refusal — this was not supposed to be happening to a man in the middle of his career, and he was not an eighty-five-year-old man. He said the doctor told him not to worry, that he had about another ten good years of work left in him. He described the time that followed as being stuck in the middle of the road with cement feet, hearing a bus coming without knowing how fast it was travelling or how hard it would hit.
He did not tell the public straight away, and said that when it became known everyone had an opinion about it. That, he said, helped him work out that the only opinion that mattered was his own. He described going to Congress early on to give evidence about funding for Parkinson's research and deliberately not taking his medication first, because he wanted the people deciding to see what the condition does to a person.
He has also been open about coping badly at first. He said he began drinking heavily and alone, then stopped, went through about a year with nothing to put in its place, and later went into therapy — after which it started to become clear to him that this was not a death sentence and that he could live a day at a time.
Speaking to CBS Mornings in 2023, more than three decades on, he said his positivity is sincere but hard won, and that as someone with an athlete's ego and bravado he hid his fear for a long time and is now more open with himself and his family about the days when he is struggling. The programme said he was diagnosed in 1991 at 29, has lived with the condition for more than half his life, and that the foundation he set up in 2000 has funded close to two billion dollars of Parkinson's research, including a study that identified a protein in spinal fluid that can help detect the disease, in some cases years before the first symptoms appear.
Nothing here is medical advice. Parkinson's affects different people very differently. The NHS says to see a GP if you are worried that you may have symptoms of Parkinson's disease.
In their own words
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Key moments
Told at 29
1991
A doctor told him he had Parkinson's disease, and told him not to worry because he had around ten good working years left.
Not telling anyone at first
The years after
He kept it private. When it became public he found everybody had an opinion, which helped him decide that only his own opinion counted.
Drinking, stopping, and therapy
The early years
He has said he drank heavily and alone after the diagnosis, stopped, and later went into therapy, after which it stopped feeling like a death sentence.
Evidence to Congress
Early in his campaigning
He gave evidence about research funding without taking his medication beforehand, so that the people making the decision could see the condition for themselves.
More than thirty years on
2023
He told CBS Mornings that his optimism is genuine but hard won, and that he is more open now with his family when things are dark.
What this story is about
Where this came from
Every story here is built only from what the person said publicly themselves. These are the sources we used.
Michael J. Fox on latest Parkinson's research and how he's managing the disease
CBS Mornings · Interview · 9 November 2023
Michael J. Fox Opens Up About His Parkinson's Disease Diagnosis (2013)
The Howard Stern Show · Interview · 9 October 2023
Michael J. Fox is not affiliated with and has not endorsed UnTouchable.
Published 20 September 2026. Something wrong here? Ask us to correct or remove this story.