Michael J. Fox receives 2023 Elevate Prize Catalyst Award at Clinton Global Initiative
Actor and philanthropist Michael J
NEW YORK — Actor and philanthropist Michael J. Fox won this year’s Elevate Prize Catalyst Award, which the “Back to the Future” star plans to use to further his foundation’s work to find treatments for Parkinson’s disease.
Fox, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at the age of 29 in 1991, received the award at the Clinton Global Initiative, or CGI, conference on Tuesday in New York. The annual prize, which went to Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai last year, includes $250,000 from the Elevate Prize Foundation and support to amplify the winner’s messaging.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who interviewed Fox onstage at CGI, credited him with research advances in understanding Parkinson's. “I don’t think this work would have made the progress it has if Michael hadn’t been so open,” she said.
Fox said that once he got support from his family after his diagnosis, he did not hesitate about going public with his diagnosis.
“There's such shame associated with this illness,” Fox said. “It's so ridiculous, this great need to keep it secret. The cruel thing of it is it's going to out you eventually.”
However, he said there is no choice but to “keep trying to move the ball forward — whether it's world peace, climate change or this disease."
Former President Bill Clinton said he was “awestruck” by Fox. “I've known Michael J. Fox for a long time, and he looks better every time I see him,” he said. “He is a brave, good man.”
Joseph Deitch, founder of The Elevate Prize Foundation, called Fox “a lightning rod for good,” as he presented him with the award.
“He is an icon,” Elevate Prize Foundation CEO Carolina García Jayaram told The Associated Press in an interview. “He was
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