MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: Tracy Pollan is a renowned American actress, famous for her role as Ellen Reed in the popular TV show 'Family Ties'.
She is currently worth $65 million, which includes the combined net worth of her husband, the talented actor Michael J Fox.
The couple has been happily married for more than 30 years.
Pollan revealed that it can be “hard” to stay optimistic as her husband continues to battle Parkinson’s disease.
What did Tracy Pollan say about optimism?
The 63-year-old actress opened up about her struggles with optimism at the ‘A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to Cure Parkinson's’ annual gala on Saturday night.
Pollan admitted to Page Six that she doesn't feel optimistic all the time and that it's okay to feel that way.
"I don’t think you need to feel the pressure to be optimistic all the time, because it’s hard. Life is hard,” she said.
However, Pollan finds that relying on the support of family and friends and taking things one step at a time helps her cope with challenges.
She said, “Just put one foot in front of the other and lean on family and friends for support.”
Her husband, the star of the ‘Back to the Future’ franchise, Michael J Fox, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease over 30 years ago.
The couple tied the knot in 1988 and share four children: son Sam, and daughters, Aquinnah, Schuyler and Esme.
What did Michael J Fox reveal about his condition?
Actor Michael J Fox has recently revealed in an interview with Town & Country that he is not afraid of death.
The 62-year-old said that he believes that one day he will just "run out of gas" and that he won't be afraid to accept it. He explained that if he feels like he's not going to make it, he'll allow himself that.
“One day I’ll run out of gas. One day I’ll just say, ‘It’s not going to happen. I’m not going out today.’ If that comes, I’ll allow myself that.”
He added that although he is not afraid of death, it would still be premature if he were to pass away tomorrow.
He said, “But it wouldn’t be unheard of. And so, no, I don’t fear that.”
In his book ‘Lucky Man', Fox compared the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease to "the bill being brought to a sloppy table after an ill-deserved and under-appreciated banquet."
Earlier this year, Fox admitted that life with Parkinson's disease was getting harder as he got older.
On ‘CBS Sunday Morning’ the actor remarked, “I’m not gonna lie. It’s gettin’ hard, it’s gettin’ harder,” adding, “It’s gettin’ tougher. Every day it’s tougher.”
Despite this, he remains optimistic about his future.
He was diagnosed with the neurological condition in 1991 but did not make the diagnosis public until 1998.
His organization 'The Michael J. Fox Foundation: For Parkinson's Research', which was founded in 2000, has since financed approximately $2 billion in research.
Saturday night's event raised an additional $4 million.
Julianne Moore, Justin Long, and Kate Bosworth attended the gala, as did Michelle Buteau, Joan Jett, Keegan-Michael Key, and Fox's ‘Back to the Future’ co-star Christopher Lloyd.
