Michael J. Fox

While Michael J. Fox's role as Marty McFly in the Back to the Future films may be his most well-known accomplishment, his foundation is shaping the future of research on Parkinson’s Disease, a degenerative neurological condition that can impair motor function, memory, and mood in addition to showing other symptoms.

Fox rose to stardom as an actor in the 1980s TV drama "Family Ties" and later appeared in films like Teen Wolf and Stuart Little as well as shows like "Spin City" and "The Good Wife." In 1991, he received a diagnosis of young-onset Parkinson's disease, and in 1998, he went public with it. He established the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2000 with the goal of advancing medicines and finding a cure through ambitious, risky research.

The organization has contributed more than $450 million to the study of Parkinson's disease since its founding. Its research focuses on a variety of issues, including vaccines to delay the disease and the development of a standardized scale for evaluating dyskinesia, the involuntary movements that are Parkinson's disease's most obvious symptom.

Born: June 9, 1961

Nationality: Canadian, American