Born: June 22, 1960 in Long Island, NYOccupation: Actor
Biography: Actress Tracy Pollan had a few commercials and minor TV roles to her credit when, in 1985, she was cast as Ellen Reed on the long-running sitcom Family Ties. Her on-camera romance with series star Michael J. Fox blossomed into the real thing; Pollan and Fox were married in 1988. Outside of Family
Actress Tracy Pollan had a few commercials and minor TV roles to her credit when, in 1985, she was cast as Ellen Reed on the long-running sitcom Family Ties. Her on-camera romance with series star Michael J. Fox blossomed into the real thing; Pollan and Fox were married in 1988. Outside of Family Ties, most of her film and TV roles have taken advantage of her athletic prowess, most notably the made-for-TV The Abduction of Kari Swenson (1989). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide.
BIOGRAPHY
It will be one of the greatest unfairnesses of television celebrity history when Tracy Jo Pollan is remembered simply as the wife of an actor who had Parkinson's Disease. Indeed, she is that, and as the condition of her husband, Michael J. Fox, progresses, it will likely consume her life more and more. But her experience with Fox exposes Pollan to be a tremendous personality in her own right. Those who doubt need look no further than the title of her husband's autobiography. Because of Pollan's unwaivering support, Fox - Parkinsons and all - titles himself a Lucky Man.
Fox has taken plenty of grief from the Parkinsons support community for calling his condition a "gift," as in "the gift that keeps on taking." But the average Parkinsons patient likely lacks the support and strength behind him that Pollan provides to Fox. Fox contemplates his life in it's entirety, and concludes "Damn, I was smart [to have chosen Tracy]. Damn, I am lucky." It becomes evident that Pollan was destined to make her mark somewhere. And she selected standing by one of the great TV personalities, as he faces a monster struggle in his life, to make that mark.
Pollan was one of four kids: herself, two sisters and a brother Michael. She attended New York schools, and later studied at H B Studio and the Lee Strasberg Institute, both in New York City. Somewhere along the line, she learned how to play the piano.
Pollan's debut in acting came in 1980, where she appeared in Joan Micklin Silver's Album, which also starred Kevin Bacon. Presumably from that meeting, a dating relationship between Pollan and Bacon began, one that extended into her career at Family Ties. She did a few commercials, and played Leslie, a college girl, in her first movie, Baby, It's You, 1983.
She took on about seven TV roles prior to her becoming Ellen Reed, the girlfriend of Alex P. Keaton, a role she played for two years. Pollan left Family Ties to pursue other acting roles, and Fox knew she wasn't planning on returning. Her parting gift to Fox was a piano rendition of James Taylor's That's Why I'm Here.
In 1987/88, Pollan and Fox crossed paths once more in Bright Lights, Big City, where Pollan played Vicky, and Fox starred as Jamie Conway. When Pollan confessed they weren't together any more, Fox declared, "A. you got the job, and B. Let's have dinner." Pollan's biggest role acting since then was the role of Kathleen Kennedy in the three-part television miniseries, The Kennedys of Massachusetts. Later, in 1999, she tried her hand at producing, playing the title role of Anna Says.
Though Fox' Parkinsons condition was kept a secret for seven years after diagnosis, Pollan surely knew that she would effectively raise her next child alone, notwithstanding Fox' physical presence - twin girls Schuyler and Aquinnah, who were born in 1995 - four years after the diagnosis. In Spin City, she played Renee Miller in a Fox farewell episode It Happened One Night. And again in 2001, Fox and Pollan had a fourth child, Esme Annabelle.
Today, she spends very little time acting - her last appearance was in 2003, First to Die - and more time working behind Fox in his campaigns to raise the awareness of Parkinsons issues. She serves on the Board of Directors for Fox' Foundation for Parkinsons Research. Fox may never have asked her out loud, "Did you buy into this when you married me?" For he faces the same self-doubts that anyone whose life is impaired may face.
