What The Cast Of '80s Sitcom Family Ties Looks Like Today

Art imitates life, so they say. And they, whoever they are, are right, especially when it comes to the hit '80s sitcom "Family Ties." The series aired in 1982, shortly after Ronald Reagan took office as president of the United States. The show followed the Keaton family, comprised of two ex-hippie parents and their children, one of whom was a proud member of the Young Republicans. The political differences, of course, led to all sorts of friction between the elder Keatons and their son, and it made for great television. "Family Ties" ran for 172 episodes, concluding just a few months after Reagan's presidency ended, and garnered five Primetime Emmy Awards in its seven-season tenure. The show was one of a handful of sitcoms that defined the comedy series of the decade, and it's still mentioned on lists of the best sitcoms of all time.

The series also produced some actors who would go on to have massive careers. On the flip side, there are some actors from the sitcom you might not hear about anymore, whether that's because they've stepped away from Hollywood entirely or just have had quieter careers. Here's what the cast of "Family Ties" looks like today.

Before becoming the iconic Marty McFly in "Back to the Future," Michael J. Fox was one of the stars of "Family Ties," the sitcom serving as his breakout role. Fox played Alex P. Keaton for all 172 episodes of the series. Thanks to "Family Ties" and the "Back to the Future" series, Fox cemented himself as one of the biggest stars of the 1980s. Fox stayed very active "Family Ties" ended, starring in two "Back to the Future" sequels, three "Stuart Little" films, nearly all episodes of "Spin City," and one season of his eponymous sitcom, "The Michael J. Fox Show."

When he was just 29 years old, Michael J. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, a progressive neurological disorder that can affect speech, balance, movement, and other bodily functions. Fox has continued working with the disease, and he's become a fierce advocate and fundraiser for more research. 

Fox joined the cast of "Shrinking" for a small recurring role in the third season, playing a man who's been diagnosed with Parkinson's. When the show was renewed for a fourth season, Fox said he'd definitely return if asked back. "I love Bill [Lawrence] and I'm so happy it's a success. And it's such a great time being with those actors. It's so important to me to have that to go to. And I would absolutely do that in a heartbeat," Fox told People in 2026 of the show and one of its creators. That same year, Fox made a surprise cameo at the Actor Awards where he participated in the "I am an actor" segment. 

Everyone loves a good sitcom dad, and in "Family Ties," that role was portrayed by Michael Gross. Gross took on the role of Steve Keaton relatively early in his career, and he also found work in other projects while becoming a comedy star. After the series ended, Gross did quite a bit of character acting in movies and TV shows, taking on arcs in series like "ER," "The Young and the Restless," and "Grace and Frankie." Gross has also entered the Lifetime and Hallmark universes, contributing to 2018's "Christmas Pen Pals" and 2019's "Sister of the Bride" on the respective networks.

After "Family Ties" ended, Gross had another career-defining project: "Tremors," a horror-comedy film that turned into an enduring franchise. After the first installment, Gross became the star of the movies series, and the franchise has been releasing feature films and videos alike ever since. The franchise has been a great anchor to Gross' career post-sitcom. "It came right on the heels of seven years of 'Family Ties' and the question for any actor in a long term series is will there be life after that character you played on the series and will it be a different sort of character, and thank god 'Tremors' answered both of those questions in the affirmative," Gross said of the film series in an interview with WRKR, 30 years after the release of the first "Tremors."

For almost every beloved TV dad, there's a TV mom who fans are just as obsessed with. In "Family Ties," that counterpart was Elyse Keaton, played by Meredith Baxter. Unlike many of her younger co-stars, Baxter was basically a showbiz veteran when she started "Family Ties." She had been working in Hollywood for about a decade when the series began, and she had starred in the groundbreaking series "Bridget Loves Bernie" about an interfaith couple, as well as the series "Family." Post-"Family Ties," Baxter kept working on screen, mostly in movies, though some TV series, too, such as "The Young and the Restless," "Glee," and "Switched at Birth."

Baxter's acting career has slowed down in recent years, but she's remained busy in other areas of her life. She's a strong advocate for various non-profit organizations and the LGBTQ+ community, and in 2011, she released a memoir "Untied: A Memoir of Family, Fame, and Floundering," in which she opened up about her tumultuous first marriage. When promoting her book, Baxter said that being on the hit sitcom saved her life. "That was a place I could go where people liked me. That was not my situation at home. I was married to someone who did not like me," Baxter told TV Guide in 2011.

Justine Bateman comes from a family of show business professionals. Her father, Kent Bateman, worked as a film producer, and her brother, Jason Bateman, is an actor and director best known for his work in projects like "Teen Wolf Too," "Arrested Development," and "Ozark." Like her brother, Justine got her start in Hollywood early in life, with her big break coming with her role as Mallory Keaton in "Family Ties." After wrapping the sitcom, Justine continued acting in film and television, finding work on series like "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman," "Californication," "Desperate Housewives," and even an episode of "Arrested Development" alongside her brother.

Justine is still busy making movies and television, but in recent years she's shifted her focus to writing, directing, and producing. She wrote, directed, and produced the films "Feel" and "Violet," and she's had her hands in some other projects, too. Justine has also found creative work outside of Hollywood. In 2021, her second book was published, a fictional piece called "Face: One Square Foot of Skin," a meditation on aging. "I was struck by the insanity of telling half the population that your aging face is broken and needs to be fixed. To me, it's like telling half the population, 'You've got to cut off the pinky toe on your left foot.' And we've just been going along with it," Justine told LA Review of Books in 2021 about her inspiration for the book.

Tina Yothers was a beloved member of the cast of "Family Ties." She played Jennifer Keaton for all 172 episodes, and the show's success, it seemed, had her primed to have a successful career in Hollywood after "Family Ties" ended. Yothers had a few acting gigs in the '90s — three made-for-TV movies and an episode of "Married... with Children" — but that small role ended up being her last on-screen performance (aside from her own music video in 2000), putting her on a list of '80s sitcom stars who disappeared from Hollywood. "Things went in a direction that I didn't want to go. I started doing bit parts and things that are pretty much laid out for people in my position. Recognizable, or maybe a familiar name ... The parts were pretty generic. I was 20, maybe 21 years old and felt I had a lot to offer, even to myself, and so I just stopped. I didn't want to do that anymore. I stopped acting because of that, and because I had other passions I wanted to pursue," Yothers told The Celebrity Cafe in 2000 of her decision to stop acting.

Yothers hasn't acted professionally in decades, but she didn't step away from show business entirely. The former actor appeared on a variety of reality shows throughout the 2000s, including "VH-1 Where Are They Now?", "Weakest Link," and "Celebrity Fit Club." Yothers was also on an episode of "What Not to Wear" and an episode "Celebrity Wife Swap" where she swapped families with Niecy Nash.

As the name of the sitcom suggests, "Family Ties" was all about family, and during the hit show's run, the characters welcomed a baby, Andy Keaton. When Andy grew up, the role was played by Brian Bonsall, a child actor who's still best known for that role. After "Family Ties" ended, Bonsall acted for a few more years, finding work in projects like "Blank Check" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation." However, 1994's "Lily in Winter" served as Bonsall's final role for decades as he left Hollywood in search of a more normal life.

"['Family Ties'] pushed me to the limelight to a point where I couldn't walk down the street," Bonsall said in an episode of the docuseries "Hollywood Demons" (via Fox News). (Bonsall has said, though, that overall his child acting experience was positive.)

Since leaving Hollywood, Bonsall has gotten married and started a family, and he's become a professional musician as a member of the band Lights in the Sky. In recent years, Bonsall has taken on a couple of small acting roles, and he's open to more, but that's not his focus. "For now, though, I'm just focusing on being a dad, playing music, and enjoying my life with the family I love so much," Bonsall said in a 2023 interview with Celebrity Parents Magazine.

Marc Price has had an interesting career in Hollywood. He grew up in Tinsel Town as his parents were in show business, and as a teenager he started acting himself, portraying Irwin "Skippy" Handelman on "Family Ties." "It was kind of drilled into me from a young age that that was my profession. I don't think I had much choice in the matter," Price said on a 2024 episode of the "Classic Conversations" podcast. After the sitcom ended, Price kept acting, though for two decades he didn't have any professional acting careers, opting instead to produce, write, and direct. He's been acting somewhat steadily again since 2013, with some of his recent credits including "Hell's Bells," "The Girl 2," and "Witchy Ways."

In addition to his acting, writing, producing, and directing, Price does stand-up comedy. The multihyphenate has been a stand-up comedian for decades, regularly performing at Harrah's Las Vegas for years in the 2000s while also keeping a strong presence in the Lake Tahoe area. 'I have a lot of varied influences ... and sometimes I'm a physical comedian, being silly, and other times I can be very thoughtful and have some smart material. I go political a little bit, but then I kiss up to Republicans — a little all over the place. I enjoy that, and I think the audience enjoys it, too," Price said of his comedic work in a 2017 interview with Columbus Underground.

Scott Valentine had been working in Hollywood for just a few years when he stumbled into his recurring role on "Family Ties." Valentine played Nick Moore in 45 episodes in the later seasons. He was supposed to appear in only one episode, but the character was such a hit with fans that the show kept bringing Valentine back. In fact, Valentine's character was so popular that there were multiple spin-offs pitched for him. One was even filmed – "The Art of Being Nick," with Julia Louis-Dreyfus acting opposite Valentine — though none of them ultimately stuck. After "Family Ties" ended and all Nick Moore spin-off ideas were squashed, Valentine continued with his acting career, eventually finding a starring TV role in "Phantom 2040" and another in the series "Black Scorpion." In addition to his acting work, Valentine has credits as a director and producer.

Valentine hasn't just worked in Hollywood, though. In the mid-2000s, the actor began working as an investment banker, primarily in the renewable energy space. For a few years, Valentine balanced his new job with a few acting roles, but from 2010 to 2019, he didn't have any professional on-screen acting credits. Valentine's first few roles back in the business were short films — "Cardboard by Your Name," "Thicker Than Water," and "Carmonizer" — but he's signed on to do some more substantial projects in coming years.

The stunning Courteney Cox played Lauren Miller on "Family Ties," appearing in the last few seasons after already having found work on movies and other TV series. And despite being one of the most popular sitcoms of all times, "Family Ties" is not the most famous sitcom Cox worked on. After the show ended, Cox went on to star in another wildly famous show: "Friends." And after that sitcom ended, Cox starred in another series, "Cougar Town," and has been very selective with her work since that show ended.

In addition to her legendary TV roles, Cox is also known for playing Gale Weathers in the horror series "Scream." Cox has reprised the part for several installments of the slasher series, including for 2023's "Scream VI" and 2026's "Scream 7." Cox has had an incredibly fruitful career that most actors can only dream of, and she's well aware. "I'm just glad they made another 'Scream,' because the first one was so incredible and Matt and Tyler did such a good job bringing it back. I never thought it would come back in a million years, and I love that I've done these two historical projects that have lasted such a long time ... I'm a little spoiled in certain ways that I've gotten to do things for a long time, with the same people and enjoy it," Cox said of her career in Interview magazine in 2022.

Tracy Pollan has been working in Hollywood since the early 1980s. After playing Ellen Reed on several episodes of "Family Ties," Pollan continued acting in both television and film, with "A Stranger Among Us," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "The Michael J. Fox Show," and "Inventing Anna" among her biggest credits. Pollan also had a role in the 1988 film "Bright Lights, Big City," where she reunited with her "Family Ties" co-star Michael J. Fox. It was then that the two started dating, and they've been together ever since. Fox and Pollan share four children.

As noted, Pollan has maintained a steady acting career over the decades, but much of her life has been directed by Fox's health issues, as she has been his primary caregiver. "Michael was diagnosed before the girls were born and very, very early into Sam's life, so it's kind of all they know really. And they're just incredibly supportive. They're very helpful to me. I lean on them a lot," Pollan said to People in 2025 about her children. "It's very difficult for the family, for the caregivers, and obviously for the patient, so I think it's also important to acknowledge that, and acknowledge that it's not just all sort of easy," she added.