Michael J. Fox Receives Bob Hope Humanitarian Award at 2026 Emmys

Michael J. Fox received the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award at the 2026 Emmy Awards on September 14, and the audience gave him a standing ovation as he rolled onto the stage in a wheelchair. Julianna Margulies, his former costar on The Good Wife, presented the honor. Fox, 65, called the award humbling and paid tribute to Bob Hope, the legendary comedian whose name the award carries.

The recognition shines a light on work Fox has been doing for more than two decades. He went public with his young-onset Parkinson’s diagnosis in 1998, and in 2000 he founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation, which has supported more than $3 billion in Parkinson’s research. In his remarks, Fox said he knew his name could attract attention to help reach those goals faster, and that he shares his community’s sense of urgency.

Fox retired from full-time acting in 2020, but he’s still finding ways to work. He was nominated the same night for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role on AppleTV’s Shrinking, bringing his career total to five Emmys and 19 nominations. From Family Ties to Back to the Future to Spin City, he’s been part of our living rooms for forty years, and Sunday night showed how much that still means.

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