Editing Michael J. Fox (section)

== Early life ==
Fox was born in [[Edmonton]], [[Alberta]], Canada, on June 9, 1961,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Michael-J-Fox| title=Michael J. Fox: Canadian actor| encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]| last=Tikkanen |first=Amy |date=June 5, 2021| access-date=January 23, 2022| archive-date=November 10, 2021| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110180644/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Michael-J-Fox}}</ref> the son of Phyllis<ref name=FoxFoundation>{{cite web| url=https://www.michaeljfox.org/michaels-story| title=Michael's Story| publisher=The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research| access-date=January 23, 2022| archive-date=January 16, 2022| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220116040023/https://www.michaeljfox.org/michaels-story}}</ref> (''née'' Piper) and William Nelson Fox.<ref name=noh>{{cite book| last=Fox| first=Michael J.| title=Lucky Man : A Memoir| publisher=Hyperion| year=2003| pages=[https://archive.org/details/luckyman00mich/page/34 34, 46–47]| url=https://archive.org/details/luckyman00mich/page/34| isbn=978-0-7868-8874-0}}</ref> William was a 25-year veteran of the [[Canadian Armed Forces|Canadian Forces]] who later became a police dispatcher,<ref name=AARPMag>{{cite news| magazine=[[AARP: The Magazine]]| author=Corsello, Andrew| title=Unbreakable: After a tough, drak spell, Michael J. Fox has emerged steelier, more realistic – and ready to tackle whatever comes next| pages=36–41}}</ref><ref name="Telegraph">{{cite news |date=October 21, 2015 |title=Back to the Future: a timeline of Michael J Fox's career |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/back-to-the-future/michael-j-fox-timeline-career-parkinsons/ |url-status=dead |access-date=February 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225020751/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/back-to-the-future/michael-j-fox-timeline-career-parkinsons/ |archive-date=February 25, 2018 |issn=0307-1235 |quote=On June 9, 1961, six years after Marty McFly's parents are supposed to meet in Back to the Future, Michael J Fox is born in Canada to a police officer and an actress.}}</ref> while Phyllis was a payroll clerk and actress.<ref name=AARPMag/><ref name=Telegraph/> Fox is of English and Northern Irish descent; his maternal grandparents were from England and [[Belfast]], [[Northern Ireland]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6RST-TPSH|title= Phyllis Piper Census Canada Census, 1931|publisher= [[FamilySearch]]|accessdate=February 19, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://parade.com/104611/dotsonrader/michael-j-fox-extras/ | title=Michael J. Fox on 'Back to the Future': 'I Truly Thought I Was Terrible{{'-}} | magazine=Parade | date=March 29, 2012 | access-date=June 11, 2022 | archive-date=June 11, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220611183541/https://parade.com/104611/dotsonrader/michael-j-fox-extras/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

Fox's family lived in various cities and towns across Canada due to his father's career.{{sfn|Fox|2002|p=32}} They moved to [[Burnaby]], a city outside of [[Vancouver]], when his father retired in 1971. His father died of a heart attack on January 6, 1990.<ref name=MikeBio>{{cite web |url=https://www.michaeljfox.org/foundation/michael-story.html |title=Michael J. Fox Biography |publisher=The Michael J Fox Foundation |access-date=August 25, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150212093048/https://www.michaeljfox.org/foundation/michael-story.html |archive-date=February 12, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> His mother died in September 2022.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Rice |first1=Nicholas |last2=VanHoose |first2=Benjamin |date=October 9, 2022 |title=Michael J. Fox Mourns His Mom at Back to the Future Comic-Con Event |url=https://people.com/movies/michael-j-fox-remembers-mom-after-death-back-to-the-future-comic-con-panel/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009221922/https://people.com/movies/michael-j-fox-remembers-mom-after-death-back-to-the-future-comic-con-panel/ |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |access-date=October 9, 2022 |magazine=People}}</ref> Fox attended [[Burnaby Central Secondary School]], and has a theatre named for him at [[Burnaby South Secondary]].<ref name="Burnaby"/> At age 16, Fox starred in the Canadian television series ''[[Leo and Me]]'', produced by the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]], and in 1979, at age 18, he moved to Los Angeles to further his acting career.{{sfn|Fox|2002|p=65}} Shortly after his 1988 marriage, he moved back to Vancouver.{{sfn|Fox|2002|p=48}}

Fox was discovered by producer Ronald Shedlo and made his American debut in the television film ''Letters from Frank'', credited under the name "Michael Fox". However, when he registered with the [[Screen Actors Guild]], he discovered that [[Michael Fox (American actor)|Michael Fox]], a veteran actor, was already registered under that name.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/michael-j-fox |title=Michael J. Fox |publisher=The Canadian Encyclopedia |access-date=June 15, 2022 |archive-date=June 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615130359/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/michael-j-fox |url-status=live }}</ref> Fox explained in his autobiography ''Lucky Man: A Memoir'':

{{blockquote|The Screen Actors Guild prohibits any two members from working under the same stage name, and they already had a 'Michael Fox' on the books. My middle name is Andrew, but 'Andrew Fox' or 'Andy Fox' didn't cut it for me. 'Michael A. Fox' was even worse, the word fox having recently come into use as a synonym for attractive. (Presumptuous?) It also sounded uncomfortably Canadian – Michael Eh? Fox – but maybe I was just being oversensitive. And then I remembered one of my favorite character actors, [[Michael J. Pollard]], the guileless accomplice in Bonnie and Clyde. I stuck in the J, which sometimes I tell people stands for either Jenuine or Jenius, and resubmitted my forms.<ref name=MikeBio />}}