Michael J. Fox Honoured At 2026 Emmys With Bob Hope Humanitarian Award

The Emmys celebrated Michael J. Fox's invaluable contributions, bestowing on him the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award, recognizing his work in bringing attention to Parkinson’s disease with his Michael J. Fox Foundation. In his acceptance speech, he talked of how he kept his diagnosis secret in apprehension that it'd damage his career. He opened up on his acceptance through the years.

Michael J. Fox Talks About Parkinson's Diagnosis

“My parents were born during the Great Depression and came of age during World War II,” he said. “To them, Bob was more than an entertainer, he was a selfless champion of soldiers and military families like mine for decades. Christmases, Thanksgivings, and other holidays where he could have been celebrating with his family, he was showing up for the troops in Berlin, Saigon, and the Middle East with a turkey leg and a golf club.”

Fox added he would later learn from Hope’s example, noting how Hope would bring joy to people during tough times. “Initially, I kept my Parkinson’s diagnosis a secret,” Fox said. “I worried that it would affect my work and relationships with audiences. Would they laugh if they knew I was sick?” But ultimately, he discovered that the world accepted him, calling their support “uplifting.” He thanked the crowd for standing up for him.

“The support from all of you was so uplifting and made me feel like I can keep doing this,” Fox continued. “I hadn’t lost what I do, and they couldn’t take it away from me. I understood that accepting Parkinson’s didn’t mean I had to surrender to it. It just meant doing what I could for everyone living with this disease.”

It was his former co-star on The Good Wife, Julianna Margulies, who presented Fox with the award, calling a “dear, dear friend” who has made a powerful impact on the world.

“A man whose deeds and actions have had a lasting impact on society,” she underlined. “This year marks only the sixth time [the award] has been bestowed, and I can think of no one more deserving of it than Michael.”

Fox had been nominated multiple times for Emmys over the course of his career and previously bagged five awards. He received his first in 1986 for playing Alex P. Keaton on the sitcom, Family Ties, and got his most recent in 2009 for Rescue Me.