Family Ties cast - Where are they now? | Gallery

By Bryanne Salazar 8:00pm PDT, Oct 2, 2022

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Not to make you feel old, but Sept. 22, 2022, marks 40 years since "Family Ties" — the Emmy-winning '80s TV series — premiered on NBC! To celebrate the fictional family that made us all want to be Keatons, Wonderwall.com is checking up on the cast of this beloved sitcom to find out what they're up to (and look like) today.

Keep reading for more…

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Rising young actor Michael J. Fox starred as Alex P. Keaton, the Wall Street Journal-reading conservative-minded teen who looked up to Republicans like Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. Contrasting with his progressive, liberal-leaning family, Alex's primary goals were to attend an Ivy League school and to get rich using "Reaganomics."

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By the time "Family Ties" ended in 1989, Michael J. Fox was already a husband, father and bona fide superstar. Headlining box office films like "Teen Wolf" and "Back to the Future" (as well as the sequels), Michael's career in Hollywood seemed unshakable. The Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning actor, who married his "Family Ties" co-star Tracy Pollan a year before the show ended, continued to make films like "Casualties of War," "Cold Blooded," "Life with Mikey," "Mars Attacks!" and more and lent his voice to popular animated characters in films like "Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey," "Stuart Little" and "Atlantis: The Lost Empire." In 1996, Michael returned to the small screen with "Spin City," earning himself two additional Golden Globes and another Emmy over his next four years on the show. Incredibly, Michael achieved all of these successes while privately battling a diagnosis of early-onset Parkinson's disease, which was rapidly progressing, making it impossible to hide from the public. In 1998, Michael bravely shared the news of his diagnosis with the world and in 2000 made the decision to retire from acting to focus on his health and to launch the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, a nonprofit dedicated to finding a cure for this debilitating disease. But his retirement was short-lived. Following the 2002 release of his first of four memoirs, he returned to the small screen as a guest star on several TV shows. In 2006, he landed his first recurring role in years on "Boston Legal." Since then, he's appeared on "Rescue Me," "The Good Wife" and spinoff "The Good Fight" and the short-lived "The Michael J. Fox Show." Michael is still happily married to Tracy, with whom he has four kids, after more than 30 years.

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Meredith Baxter starred as architect, mom, wife and general bad a** Elyse Keaton on "Family Ties." Elyse was a work-from-home mom who, like every woman in the world, struggled to find a balance between her family, work and personal passions. What made her incredible was that she didn't apologize for making more money than her husband or pursuing a career she loved.

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Reeling from a divorce the same year "Family Ties" came to an end, mom of five and Emmy nominee Meredith Baxter kept busy, starring in 13 made-for-TV movies and one big-screen film over the next five years. In 1996, Meredith landed her first recurring TV role since "Family Ties" on the short-lived comedy series "The Faculty," which was canceled after just one season. She continued to star in TV movies such as "The Inheritance" and "Miracle in the Woods" before appearing on two episodes of "Spin City" to comically play the mother of Michael J. Fox's Mike Flaherty, much to fans' delight. Since 1997, Meredith has appeared in at least 20 made-for-TV movies and four films and enjoyed recurring roles on numerous TV shows including "Cold Case," "Family Guy," "Dan vs." "The Neighbors," "The Young and the Restless" and "Finding Carter." In 2009, Meredith publicly shared with the world that she's a lesbian. Two years later, she released the memoir "Untied: A Memoir of Family, Fame, and Floundering." In 2013, Meredith married longtime partner Nancy Locke.

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Michael Gross played light-hearted and lovable dad Steven Keaton on "Family Ties." Steven was an ex-hippie and father of four who worked as a manager for a local radio station.

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Stage and screen actor Michael Gross appeared in the made-for-TV movie "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" the same year "Family Ties" ended and followed that up with a role in the thriller "Tremors" alongside Kevin Bacon. Michael continued to work on the small screen too, appearing in TV movies like "With a Vengeance," "Avalanche," "Hijacked: Flight 285," "The Making of a Hollywood Madam" and "Batman Beyond: The Movie" while also appearing on the big screen in smaller movies. In 2000, he returned to the theater for the first time in two decades to appear in a Broadway production of Shakespeare's "Macbeth" and that same year, he appeared on an episode of "Spin City" as Michael J. Fox's character's therapist. In 2001, Michael took on a recurring role on the hit medical drama "ER" and in 2003, he appeared on the TV series "Tremors." Over the years, Michael's made numerous appearances on shows like "The Drew Carey Show," "Medium," "Boston Legal," "Parks and Recreation," "How I Met Your Mother" and "Last Man Standing," "The Affair" and, more recently, "Grace & Frankie" from 2015 to 2019, the year he also appeared in the holiday-themed flick "Noelle."

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Justine Bateman starred as Mallory Keaton, the oldest sister on "Family Ties." Throughout the series, Mallory was portrayed as somewhat of an airhead with a great sense of style. Even though her character was meant to be a contrast to her smarter older brother, Alex, Mallory often surprised herself and others with her intellect and wisdom.

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After leaving "Family Ties," Justine Bateman transitioned to the big screen, appearing in films like "The Closer," "Primary Motive," "The Night We Never Met" and "Say You'll Be Mine." Justine, who happens to be the older sister of actor-director Jason Bateman, also kept one foot in television, appearing over the years on shows like "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman," "Men Behaving Badly," "Out of Order," "Californication," "Desperate Housewives" and "Easy to Assemble." After marrying real estate developer Mark Fluent in 2001, Justine — an Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated actress — continued to work on screen but by 2008, she was ready for something different. In addition to making her directorial debut with the TV documentary "Speechless," Justine also wrote her first TV script — for the series "Wizards of Waverly Place." She also made headlines for going to college in her 40s, graduating from UCLA with a degree in computer science and management in 2016. But this mom of two isn't finished making her mark in Hollywood. She wrote and directed the 2021 drama "Violet" starring Olivia Munn and Justin Theroux and appeared in the comedy flick "The Allnighter" in 2022.

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Tina Yothers starred as determined and often stubborn younger sister Jennifer Keaton on "Family Ties." Jennifer was a tomboy who wasn't afraid to stand up to her older brother or parents when she knew she was right.

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In recent years, Tina Yothers has been a California-based stay-at-home mom, she told Entertainment Weekly in 2015. (She's seen here in 2012.) In fact, the former child star has remained low-key since "Family Ties" ended in 1989, appearing in just a handful of made-for-TV films and TV shows including "Laker Girls" in 1990 and "Married with Children" in 1996. We briefly saw Tina again in 2008 when she appeared on Season 6 of "Celebrity Fit Club" as she sought to lose weight following the births of her children, Lillian Grace in 2005 and Robert Jake in 2007. We wouldn't see her again until 2012, when she appeared alongside her husband, Robert Kaiser, on an episode of "Celebrity Wife Swap."

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The adorable Brian Bonsall starred as youngest brother Andy Keaton on "Family Ties." Andy was often seen as older brother Alex's mini-me, humorously parroting many of his conservative values throughout the series.

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After a brief career in Hollywood following the end of "Family Ties," including roles on shows like "Shades of L.A." and "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and in films such as "Father Hood" and "Blank Check," Brian Bonsall walked away from acting in 1994 at 13. Ten years later, he was arrested in Boulder, Colorado, on suspicion of drunk driving. Over the next few years, Brian repeatedly turned up in the press for alleged criminal behavior, which included 2007 and 2010 arrests for domestic violence. In 2017, he married girlfriend Courtney, whom he's called his "best friend." They welcomed their first child, son Oliver, in 2019. The once troubled star has also been focused on a music career, most recently with the indie punk band Sunset Silhouette (he sings and plays guitar). In 2019, they released their first LP, "Far Beyond Suburbia," and continued to perform in the Denver area.

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Scott Valentine (center) starred as Nick Moore, Mallory's hunky artist boyfriend on "Family Ties." Nick was a major heartthrob who drove Mallory's dad crazy by always saying "Aaay!"

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You're not going to believe where Scott Valentine ended up after melting our hearts on "Family Ties." He appeared in numerous made-for-TV movies like "Without Her Consent," "Dangerous Pursuit," "After the Shock" and "The Secret Passion of Robert Clayton." He also appeared in "Killer Instinct," "To Sleep With a Vampire," "The Unborn II" and "Till the End of the Night," although none were able to catapult his career to the next level. Scott even continued to act on television dramas including "Phantom 2040" and "Black Scorpion." By the early aughts, the former heartthrob was ready to take on a new challenge: real estate and venture capitalism. He became a managing partner for the investment firm Merit Capital and by 2005 was on the move once again, this time as a managing director at Excelsior Capital, a position he still holds today. He hasn't completely ditched the acting bug, however: He appeared in two short films in 2019 and 2022.

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Marc Price starred as Alex's close friend Irwin "Skippy" Handelman on "Family Ties." Skippy was the accident-prone sidekick who was secretly head-over-heels in love with Alex's sister Mallory.

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Marc Price appeared in a handful of films like "Killer Tomatoes Eat France!" and "Little Devils: The Birth" and made-for-TV movies like "Class Cruise" and "Teen Win, Lose or Draw" and made a near-seamless transition from acting to working as a stand-up comedian, following in the footsteps of his famous father, Al Bernie. He's opened for top comics like Jay Leno and Jerry Seinfeld and has worked behind the scenes as a producer on shows like "Comedians Unleashed," "Funny Money" and the one-hour Showtime special he created in 2010, "Green Collar Comedy Show." He continues to perform in comedy shows across the country.