Michael J Fox has been a true inspiration since Parkinson’s diagnosis at 29 years old

In 1990 Michael J Fox had just seen the release of the third Back To The Future movie and was enjoying a glittering career in both movies and TV.

Having dazzled fans as Marty McFly, he'd also picked up multiple Emmy awards for his part in sitcom Family Ties and should have been looking ahead to a glittering career as one of Hollywood's biggest names.

However, a year later aged just 29 years old he received a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease that would change his life.

The first symptoms of the disease were a just slight twitching in his little finger, but doctors told him that he had only 10 years left of working as an actor.

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Ever since then he's been a true inspiration, becoming one of the world's most vocal advocates on tackling Parkinson's while still remaining an 'optimist'.

Fox also defied the predictions from his doctors that he'd only have 10 years of acting work left, going on to work for several decades more before retiring recently.

Hand-in-hand with his acting work has been a staunch dedication towards doing something about the disease which impacts him and many others.

In 2000 he set up his own foundation and since then he's raised the truly incredible amount of over $1 billion for research towards finding a cure for Parkinson's, though Fox has said he doesn't think the disease will be cured within his lifetime.

Last year he said: "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'."

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He's now retired from acting, having admitted that his short-term memory is 'shot' which makes it difficult for him to learn his lines.

Fox explained that the disease has also steadily prevented him from pursuing many of his hobbies, including playing the guitar and sketching.

However, he's still an avid writer and has released a number of memoirs detailing his life and experiences with Parkinson's disease.

He's still much loved by fans of his work as evidenced by bringing a crowd to tears this weekend when he reunited with Back To The Future co-star Christopher Lloyd at New York Comic Con.

The pair shared a warm hug before going on to talk about their time on the iconic movies.

The actor will be honoured for his inspirational work by the Oscars, with the Academy Awards having announced that Fox will receive an honorary award for his 'tireless advocacy on research into Parkinson's disease'.

Topics: Celebrity, TV and Film, Oscars, Academy Awards

Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

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