Today, they are some of the most recognizable faces in pop culture. But in their early years, stars like Michael J. Fox and Dolly Parton actually contended with poverty. One’s an ’80s and ’90s film and TV star. The other is a country music legend. Both had a strong brush with having just enough to get by – she in her youth and he as he worked on building a career. But a harrowing similarity unites these two in surprising and powerful ways.
For further perspective about just how far each has come, look at their net worths. Parade puts Parton’s net worth at a whopping $650 million. Fox, according to Celebrity Net Worth, comes in at $65 million. These are stark contrasts to where these two were earlier in their lifetimes.
Michael J. Fox and Dolly Parton contended with poverty at different points in life
If you were to ask Parton, she would say her upbringing was rich. But rather than referring to a monetary value, she calls the values and wisdom of her family life the real source of wealth. “I think my childhood made me everything I am today,” she said in defense of her childhood. “I would trade nothing for being brought up in the Great Smoky Mountains. I’ve never been ashamed of my people no matter how poor or dirty we might have been. I’ve always loved being from where I am, and having the folks that I’ve had.”
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Parton was born on January 19, 1946, in her family’s one-bedroom cabin. That cabin might have suited a small nuclear family of three. But everywhere the Parton family decided to plant roots had to accommodate Parton’s parents and around a dozen children.
Parton has outright called their early living situation as “dirt poor.” But she’s also shown the world just how much her childhood made her “everything” she is today, as Parton tells her own story with poverty in the songs “Coat of Many Colors” and “In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad).” While Parton credits her mother for her own musical ability, Parton praised her father, who was illiterate, for his wisdom, his street smarts. Her only complaint ever came from her dad’s reluctance to say “I love you,” a cultural norm for the time and place. Additional wisdom came through her upbringing with limited resources; her family had to get creative with securing food, and entertainment usually came from their mother telling stories and singing songs. Today, Parton and her husband Carl Dean call a 3,324-square-foot mansion their home, of course in her beloved Tennessee.
Michael J. Fox fell into poverty later in life
A life of plenty and of devastation can befall anyone, as it has Fox multiple times. In contrast to Parton, tethered by poverty, Fox moved around as a child because of his father’s work; he was a veteran of the Canadian Forces before becoming a police dispatcher. Fox is giving fans an unprecedented look into his personal life thanks to the documentary, STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie. In it, he details the difficulty he faced, dropping out of high school at 17 to chase the Hollywood dream.
Family Ties made Fox a household name, but first he had to land something, anything. Whatever gigs Fox did secure didn’t pay well. As a result, Fox found himself piece by piece selling his possessions, including just about every piece of furniture in his apartment. Meals were comprised of McDonald’s and, eventually, jelly packets snatched, unsanctioned, from restaurants.
“I was 18 years old, with no money, no connections,” Fox revealed, “literally dumpster diving for food.”
