Tracy Pollan

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title: "Tracy Pollan" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1960-births", "20th-century-american-actresses", "21st-century-american-actresses", "actresses-from-new-york-(state)", "american-film-actresses", "american-people-of-russian-jewish-descent", "american-stage-actresses", "american-television-actresses", "dalton-school-alumni", "jewish-american-actresses", "lee-strasberg-theatre-and-film-institute-alumni", "living-people", "people-from-woodbury,-nassau-county,-new-york", "plant-based-cookbook-writers", "syosset-high-school-alumni"] description: "American actress" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tracy_Pollan" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American actress ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Tracy Pollan
image	Tracy Pollan 87.jpg
caption	Pollan at the 1987 Emmy Awards
birth_name	Tracy Jo Pollan
birth_date
birth_place	Long Island, New York, US
occupation
years active	1980–present
spouse
children	4
relatives	Michael Pollan (brother)
::

| name = Tracy Pollan | image = Tracy Pollan 87.jpg | caption = Pollan at the 1987 Emmy Awards | birth_name = Tracy Jo Pollan | birth_date = | birth_place = Long Island, New York, US | occupation = | years active = 1980–present | spouse = | children = 4 | relatives = Michael Pollan (brother)

Tracy Jo Pollan Fox ( Pollan; born June 22, 1960) is an American actress. She is best known for playing Ellen Reed on the NBC sitcom Family Ties (1985–1987) and Harper Anderson on the crime drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2000), for which she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.

Pollan married actor and activist Michael J. Fox in 1988, and has since occasionally acted. In film, she has starred in the dramas Baby It's You (1983) and Promised Land (1987), the tragedy Bright Lights, Big City (1988) and the crime drama A Stranger Among Us (1992). Her other television credits include two episodes of Spin City (1997–1998) and TV films such as First to Die (2003), Natalee Holloway (2009) and Justice for Natalee Holloway (2011).

Early life

Pollan was born to a Jewish family on June 22, 1960 on Long Island, and raised in Woodbury. Her parents are Corky and Stephen Pollan, and she has a brother, Michael. She attended Syosset High School, and graduated from the Dalton School in Manhattan, New York. She studied acting at the Herbert Berghof Studio and the Lee Strasberg Institute.

Personal life

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Michael_J_Fox_Tracy_Pollan2.jpeg" caption="Pollan with husband [[Michael J. Fox]] at the [[1988 Emmy Awards"] ::

Pollan met Michael J. Fox while working on the TV series Family Ties in 1985. Though they played a couple on the show, they did not date in real life at the time, and Pollan left the series after a year to pursue other acting opportunities. Pollan and Fox met again during the production of Bright Lights, Big City in 1987 and after beginning a relationship, they married on July 16, 1988. She then lessened her acting workload to focus on her marriage and family.

They have four children together: a son, Sam; twin daughters, Aquinnah Kathleen and Schuyler Frances; and a daughter, Esmé Annabelle. They reside in Manhattan. On June 22, 2024 (Pollan's 64th birthday), Schuyler married her longtime partner at Hayfield in the Catskill Mountains.

Publications

In October 2014, Pollan, along with her two sisters and mother, co-authored The Pollan Family Table, a cookbook of family recipes, kitchen tips and cooking techniques. The foreword was written by her brother, Michael.

In 2019, Pollan co-authored a plant-based diet cookbook, Mostly Plants: 101 Delicious Flexitarian Recipes from the Pollan Family.

Filmography

Film

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes	1983	1987	1988	1992
Baby It's You	Leslie
Promised Land	Mary Daley
Bright Lights, Big City	Vicky Allagash
A Stranger Among Us	Mara
::

Television

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes	1982	1983	1984	1986	1985–1987	1986	1987	1990	1993	1994	1997–1998	1999	2000	2003	2009	2010	2011	2013	2016	2020	2022
For Lovers Only		Television film
Sessions	Leslie
Trackdown: Finding the Goodbar Killer	Eileen Grafton
A Good Sport	Suzanne
The Baron and the Kid	Mary Beth Phillips
ABC Afterschool Special	Jen Robbins	Episode: "The Great Love Experiment"
The Little Sister	Nicki Davis	Television film
Family Ties	Ellen Reed	Recurring role
American Playhouse	Nicki Davis	Episode: "The Little Sister"
The Abduction of Kari Swenson	Kari Swenson	Television film
A Special Friendship	Elizabeth Van Lew
The Kennedys of Massachusetts	Kathleen Kennedy	Miniseries; main role
Fine Things	Elizabeth Kathleen "Liz" O'Reilly	Television film
Dying to Love You	Lisa Ann Rohn
Children of the Dark	Kim Harrison
Spin City	Renee Miller	2 episodes
Anna Says	Anna	Television pilot; also executive producer
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Harper Anderson	Episodes: "Closure" and "Closure, Part 2"
Hench at Home	Kay Hench	Television film
First to Die	Lindsay Boxer
Medium	Caitlyn Lynch	Episode: "How to Make a Killing in Big Business"
Natalee Holloway	Beth Holloway	Television film
Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Patricia Caruso	Episode: "Traffic"
Justice for Natalee Holloway	Beth Holloway	Television film
The Michael J. Fox Show	Kelly	Episode: "Neighbor"
Nightcap	Herself	Episode: "The Cannon"
Goodbye, Jonathan!	Barbara	Episode: "The Creator"
Inventing Anna	Sherry Reed	Episode: "A Wolf in Chic Clothing"
::

Theatre

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes	1980–1981	1985	1988	1992
Album	Peggy	Cherry Lane Theatre
Pack of Lies	Julie Jackson	Royale Theatre
Woman in Mind	Lucy	New York City Center
Jake's Women	Molly (age 21)	Neil Simon Theatre
::

Awards and nominations

::data[format=table title="{{sronly|Awards and nominations received by Tracy Pollan}}"]

Award	Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Golden Raspberry Awards	Primetime Emmy Awards
1993	Worst Supporting Actress	A Stranger Among Us
2000	Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
::

References

References

1. Wenger, Stephanie. (June 22, 2023). "Michael J. Fox Calls Wife Tracy Pollan His 'Forever Summer Girl' as He Celebrates Her 63rd Birthday".
2. "Tracy Pollan".
3. Lovece, Frank. (August 15, 2012). "Michael J. Fox prepares for new show about his life". [[Newsday]].
4. Gallucci, Jaclyn. (June 4, 2014). "Famous Residents: Tracy Jo Pollan". [[Long Island Press]].
5. "Stephen Pollan Obituary". [[New York Times]].
6. Bloom, Nate. (January 8, 2008). "Interfaith Celebrities: Michael J. Fox Receives Reform Award, Liev Schreiber Narrates Jewish-American".
7. Helen Wagenvoord. (May 2, 2004). "The High Price of Cheap Food". The San Francisco Chronicle.
8. (May 8, 2000). "Tracy Pollan: Actress – Vol. 53 No. 18".
9. (February 2010). "Tracy Pollan".
10. (November 30, 1986). "— Why did they take Tracy Pollan…".
11. Reed, Susan. (August 1, 1988). "Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan (Archive)".
12. "Michael J. Fox". [[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences]].
13. "Michael J. Fox Fell for His Wife When She Called Him a Fking Ahole".
14. (October 14, 1990). "MOTHERHOOD ROLE JUST 'FINE' WITH TRACY POLLAN".
15. "Michael J. Fox Reflects on 34-Year Marriage to Tracy Pollan: 'Anything Good That We Do Comes from Her'".
16. Singh, Olivia. "Everything to know about Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan's 4 kids".
17. Kornbluth, Jesse. (December 1, 2012). "Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan's Refined Manhattan Home".
18. Clack, Erin. (June 24, 2024). "Michael J. Fox's Daughter Schuyler Fox Gets Married in New York on Her Mom Tracy Pollan's Birthday!".
19. Moody, Elyse. (September 25, 2014). "When a Famous Family Pens a Cookbook".
20. (November 24, 2014). "6 Mouth-Watering Recipes You Should Definitely Try This Thanksgiving".
21. Floreak, Michael. (October 21, 2014). "For the Pollans, informal dinner is a family affair".
22. Middleton, Susie. (2019). "Mostly Plants, Entirely Pollan".
23. Wilson, John. (August 23, 2000). "Ceremonies Presented at The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel Oscar Room, March 28, 1993".
24. "Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series Nominees / Winners 2000".

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