Michael J. Fox Moves Emmys Audience to Tears While Accepting Award

Michael J. Fox moved a room full of celebrity guests to tears at the 2026 Emmys on Monday as he accepted the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award.

The 65-year-old Back to the Future star had earlier posed proudly with his family. Later, he left attendees including his Shrinking co-star Harrison Ford and Nicole Kidman visibly emotional while recalling his Parkinson’s diagnosis at 29 and the fear that it could end his career.

Fox was brought onstage in a wheelchair and joined by presenter Julianna Margulies, his former co-star on The Good Wife.

“Thank you to everyone involved with the Television Academy for this amazing, humbling honor,” the actor said. “First, a few words about Bob Hope. My parents were born during the Great Depression.

“To them, Bob was more than an entertainer. For decades, he was a selfless champion of soldiers and military families like mine. At Christmas, Thanksgiving and other holidays he could have spent with his own family, he was instead showing up for troops in Berlin and Saigon with a turkey leg and a golf club — and maybe, if you were lucky — he embodied everything I would come to believe in years later.

“I learned from his example. I could not have known how deeply those lessons would resonate in my own life until my late 20s, when life handed me a role I wasn’t looking for.”

Reflecting on the beginning of his experience with Parkinson’s disease, Fox said: “Initially, I kept my diagnosis a secret. I worried it would affect my work and my relationship with audiences. Would they still laugh if they knew I was sick?”

‘I was stunned by the support from all of you, so uplifted and I hadn’t lost what I do. They couldn’t take it away from me. And it’s because you stood up for me. I appreciate it. 

‘I understood that accepting Parkinson’s didn’t mean I had to surrender to it. It just meant I had to do everything I could for everyone living with this disease.

‘I set out to advocate for Parkinson’s disease and raise money. I found brilliant people to start – sorry, I’m losing it. 

‘I found people to lead the effort for me and vowed to fund the best science in the world. I’m proud of the progress we’ve made to benefit Parkinson’s patients and families. 

‘We move closer to eradicating this disease forever. I’m deeply grateful to our staff, donors, researchers, and most of all the patient community who make our work at the Michael J. Fox foundation. 

‘And now the part where I thank Tracy and our kids. Aquinnah, Esmé, Schuyler, and Sam, for their sacrifices, for their patience, and for their love. You have no idea. And, of course, my mom and dad and my sisters and brother.’

Fox sat on a chair on the carpet as he posed with wife Tracey Pollan, 66, and their children, Sam, 37, twins Aquinnah and Schuyler, 31, and Esme, 24.

Fox looked dapper in a black suit and tie as he joined his loved ones on the carpet, ahead of receiving the prestigious Bob Hope humanitarian award.

The award comes in recognition of his transformative contributions to Parkinson’s disease research and advocacy. 

The Bob Hope Humanitarian Award was established in 2002 to honor a member of the telecommunications industry whose philanthropic efforts exemplify Bob Hope’s own decades-long altruism and positive impact on society. 

Fox received his 19th Emmy nomination this year for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for Shrinking, and is a five-time Emmy Award-winning actor.

Recently, Fox opened up about his return to acting and having to overcome Parkinson’s, which affects his ability to memorize lines.

The actor – who was diagnosed at the age of 29 with early-onset Parkinson’s in 1991 – revealed that he unretired from acting sooner than expected because his new character in Shrinking allowed him to ‘show up on set’ as himself.

Fox first retired in 2000, two years after publicly sharing his diagnosis. He did make several cameos on television series Scrubs and The Good Wife before being forced to take a break from acting again in 2020. 

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The talented actor explained his reasoning behind the decision to People, as he said: ‘A new variable emerged: my ability to memorize lines.

‘There’s a time for everything, and the time for 12-hour workdays was behind me.’

Fox joined Harrison Ford-led series Shrinking for season 3 earlier this year.

The Apple TV series was created by Fox’s pal Bill Lawrence, as he said he enjoyed having the freedom to ‘use how I feel on any given day and channel it into the scene.’

On the series, he portrays the character Gerry as he becomes friends with Ford’s character Dr Paul Rhoades, who is also navigating a Parkinson’s diagnosis.

The 78th annual Primetime Emmy Awards are taking place at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles on Monday night. 

Law & Order: SVU executive producer/star Mariska Hargitay is serving as host of the gala event which marks the first time a woman has hosted the show in 15 years.

Nominations for television’s biggest night were announced back in July as Euphoria’s Sydney Sweeney, The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White, and Stranger Things as a whole were among the most shocking snubs. 

The Pitt earned the most nods with the hit HBO Max medical drama earning a whopping 25 nominations, which was nearly double the 13 the show had last year.

The series earned 13 acting nods including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for star Noah Wyle and top honor Outstanding Drama.

The Pitt was followed closely by another HBO Max awards show darling, Hacks, which earned 24 nominations for its fifth and final season. 

It is the most ever for a comedy as it beat out previous record holders The Bear and The Studio which had previously earned 23. 

Leading lady Jean Smart now has the chance to earn her fifth Emmy for the show and her eighth overall, which would put her in a tie for the actress with the most Emmy acting wins in history.

Apple TV comedy horror series Widow’s Bay had a strong showing for a newcomer as it earned 19 nods. The streamer also earned 18 nominations for drama Pluribus. 

When it came to the limited/anthology series categories it was the second season of Netflix’s Beef which led the way with 16 nominations.

Streamers didn’t have all the success, however, as the most nominations on the broadcast network side went to iconic variety series Saturday Night Live which earned an impressive 11 nominations.

HBO Max earned the most nominations for any platform this year with an impressive 122 nods including 13 for DTF St. Louis. 

This year, 555 programs were submitted across the 14 program categories, down 7.5% from last year’s 600 entrants. 

That included 110 dramas, 71 comedies, 31 limited/anthology series, 34 movies, 18 variety series and 45 reality competition shows.

The two Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremonies took place last week on Saturday, September 5, and Sunday, September 6.