Skip to main contentSkip to footer

Michael J. Fox makes heartbreaking admission about Parkinson's diagnosis

Michael, 61, was diagnosed at the age of 29

"I hate it. It sucks. It's a piece of [expletive]. It's tough to get up in the morning and keep going. But I have a beautiful family and this office with trophies."
Rebecca Lewis
Rebecca Lewis - Los Angeles
ReporterLos Angeles
Share this:

Michael J. Fox has revealed that life is "getting tougher," 30 years after he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease at the young age of 29. 

The 61-year-old will make a rare appearance on CBS Sunday Morning on April 30 where he bravely acknowledges he won't reach the age of 80, and that the disease is "banging on the door". 

"I’m not gonna lie. It’s getting hard, it’s getting harder. It’s getting tougher. Every day it’s tougher," he said, adding: “You don’t die from Parkinson’s. You die with Parkinson's. So I’ve been thinking about the mortality of it."

Michael J. Fox makes heartbreaking admission about Parkinson's diagnosis

The Back to the Future star was diagnosed with the brain disorder at the young age of 29. The actor had only just married his wife Tracy Pollan at the time, whom he struck up a relationship with on the set of Family Ties in the 1980s.

There is currently no cure for Parkinson's disease, but treatments are available to help relieve the symptoms and maintain a prolonged quality of life for those diagnosed. He launched the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2000 to help educate the public on the disease, and fund further studies, and the star has raised over $1 billion so far. 

MORE: Why Michael J. Fox moved away from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

MORE: 'There is a time for everything': Michael J. Fox says he's going into a second retirement

But he has also bravely spoken about the struggles he has faced, and in 2022 he shared a powerful video in a collaboration with AARP.

 In the clip, he explained: "I went through a real crisis in 2018, I was sitting on the floor and I was thinking, 'Well, this optimism [expletive] sucks, this is only bad.' And then as I came through it, I thought if you can find something to be grateful for then optimism is sustainable." 

“I’m really blunt with people about cures. When they ask me if I will be relieved of Parkinson’s in my lifetime, I say, ‘I’m 60 years old, and science is hard. So, no,'" Michael added.

"I am genuinely a happy guy. I don’t have a morbid thought in my head — I don’t fear death. At all."

SEE: Ozzy Osbourne opens up about Parkinson's as he says he 'doesn't want to die in America'

Read more HELLO! US stories here

Like this story? Sign up to our HELLO! Mail newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.

More Health & Fitness

See more