Michael J. Fox won the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award during the 2026 Emmy Awards for his contribution to research on Parkinson's disease. The five-time Emmy winner won the award during the ceremony and was presented by The Good Wife actor Julianna Margulies.
During Michael J. Fox's acceptance speech, he spoke about his personal experiences following his diagnosis. He explained how he had at first tried to keep the truth about his Parkinson’s diagnosis from being known since he thought it could impact his career. He said, “Thank you to everyone involved with the Television Academy for this amazing, humbling honour. I learned from his (Bob Hope) example. I couldn't have known how these lessons would resonate in my own life until my late 20s, when my life handed me a role I wasn't looking for.”
According to Michael J. Fox, he had been concerned about how people would feel knowing that he was suffering from the disease. However, the support he got changed his way of thinking about the disease. He further added, “Initially, I kept my Parkinson's diagnosis a secret. I worried it would affect my work and relationships with audiences. Would they 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 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.”
He also extended gratitude to his wife and family as well as Bob Hope for motivating him. The speech from Michael ended with the words that they have taught him “how it’s done.” Michael was also nominated as a guest actor in a comedy series for his performance in Shrinking. But the trophy went to Rob Reiner posthumously.
The Bob Hope Humanitarian Award was established in 2002, and the very first recipient of this award was Oprah Winfrey. The award recognises a person who belongs to the world of television and whose charity work reflects the humanitarian work done by Bob Hope for many years. Last year, the awardees were Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen.
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