Michael J. Fox, the actor turned Parkinson’s research advocate, accepted the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards on Monday, September 14, 2026, coming onto the stage in a wheelchair and a black suit as the crowd at the Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles got to its feet.
Fox, 65, was honored for decades of Parkinson’s disease research funding and advocacy, and the ovations came both before and after his remarks. It was his first Emmys appearance in 13 years. He attended with his wife, Tracy Pollan. Actress Julianna Margulies, his former co-star on the legal drama “The Good Wife,” presented the award. Speaking from the stage, Fox praised Margulies as an acting partner and said he had enjoyed his run on the series — adding that he was glad to be done with legalese.
Then he turned to the disease that reshaped his career. “Initially, I kept my Parkinson’s diagnosis a secret. I worried that it would affect my work and my relationships with audiences. Would they laugh if they knew I was sick?” Fox told the room.
The answer, he said, came back from the audiences themselves. “All of you are so uplifting and just made me feel like I could keep doing this,” he continued. “I hadn’t lost what I do, and it couldn’t take it away from me. And it’s because you stood up for me.”
That response, he said, taught him that accepting Parkinson’s did not mean giving in to it. He called the recognition a humbling honor, and closed with his family — his wife of more than 30 years, Tracy Pollan, their four adult children, and his parents and siblings back in Canada. “I thank Tracy and our kids for their sacrifices, for their patience and for their love,” he said. “You have no idea.”
A Diagnosis He Kept Private
In 1991, when he was 29, doctors told Fox he had young-onset Parkinson’s disease — a moment that arrived at the height of a career built on “Family Ties” and the “Back to the Future” trilogy. He kept the diagnosis to himself for years while continuing to work, starring in films including “For Love or Money” and “The American President” and the ABC series “Spin City.” He made the diagnosis public in 1998, and stepped back from his lead role on “Spin City” in 2000. He retired from full-time acting in 2020 as managing the disease became increasingly difficult.
His earlier credits also include “Teen Wolf,” “The Secret of My Success,” “Casualties of War” and “Doc Hollywood.”
More Than $3 Billion in Research
In 2000, Fox founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, now the world’s largest nonprofit funder of Parkinson’s research. It has supported more than $3 billion in research programs. He told the Emmys audience he had set out to advocate for patients’ needs, raise money and search for a cure, and that he had recruited people to lead the effort and committed to funding the best science available.
“I am proud of the progress we’ve made to benefit Parkinson’s patients and families,” he said, crediting the foundation’s staff, donors, researchers and the wider Parkinson’s community. He said a cure is close, and he vowed to keep fighting to eradicate the disease.
Fox also devoted a portion of his speech to the award’s namesake. He recalled that his parents were born during the Great Depression and that to them Hope was more than an entertainer — a selfless champion of soldiers and military families who spent Christmases, Thanksgivings and other holidays performing for troops rather than celebrating at home. Fox said he learned from that example that when things get hard, you show up and help, and that he could not have known how those lessons would resonate in his own life.
A Room on Its Feet
The reaction inside the Peacock Theater was unmistakable. The room was visibly moved as Fox spoke about the diagnosis and the years he spent hiding it. The ovation that followed ran long, and Fox gestured to the crowd in acknowledgment.
Created in 2002, the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award goes to someone working in television whose charitable work reflects the spirit of the entertainer it is named after, and it is presented by the Television Academy and the Bob & Dolores Hope Foundation. The Television Academy announced Fox as this year’s recipient in July, pointing to his public advocacy and to the optimism and humor with which he has written and spoken about his own challenges.
Fox arrived at the ceremony with another reason to celebrate. A five-time Emmy winner with 19 nominations overall, he picked up a nod this year in the Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series category, recognizing his portrayal of Gerry, a man living with Parkinson’s, in Apple TV+’s “Shrinking,” opposite actor Harrison Ford as therapist Dr. Paul Rhoades. The show’s co-creator, Bill Lawrence, also co-created “Spin City.”
His Emmy wins date to the 1980s: three consecutive trophies for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series beginning in 1986 for “Family Ties,” a fourth in the same category for “Spin City” in 2000, and Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for “Rescue Me” in 2009.
Elsewhere on a night hosted by Mariska Hargitay and carried live by NBC, “Widow’s Bay” and “The Pitt” took the top series prizes, and actors Matthew Rhys and Jean Smart made history.