Running from 1982 to 1989, Family Ties captured the cultural clash between the liberal idealism of the 1970s and the conservatism of Reagan-era America. Ex-hippie parents Steven and Elyse Keaton found themselves raising children with very different values, most memorably their ambitious, Republican son Alex P Keaton, the role that made Michael J Fox a star. The generational conflict helped turn the sitcom into one of the defining shows of the 1980s.
Click or scroll on to discover the Family Ties stars ranked by wealth, with estimates courtesy of Celebrity Net Worth.
All dollar values in US dollars
Several Family Ties guest stars went on to enjoy global stardom and build huge fortunes. Tom Hanks, who played Elyse's troubled brother Ned Donnelly, is now estimated to be worth $400 million (£297m). Julia Louis-Dreyfus, with a fortune valued at $250 million (£185.7m), also appeared, with her Family Ties connection indirectly paving the way to Seinfeld.
Other guests included Geena Davis and Christina Applegate, who are worth $30 million (£22.3m) apiece. The show also featured a young River Phoenix, years before he became one of the most acclaimed actors of his generation.
Reliable net worth estimates aren't available for several recurring Family Ties players. The most prominent is Scott Valentine (pictured), who played Mallory's long-term boyfriend Nick Moore and became popular enough to inspire a proposed spin-off. John Dukakis had a recurring role as Mallory's earlier boyfriend Jeff Wakefield, while Norman Parker appeared as Steven's brother Robert Keaton.
Gail Strickland, Robert Costanzo and John Hancock are among the other familiar supporting actors without trustworthy figures, along with Robert Schanche, Terry Wills, Alan Blumenfeld, Enid Kent and John Petlock.
Joining Family Ties aged four, Brian Bonsall played youngest sibling Andy Keaton from seasons five to seven. He later appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Blank Check before leaving acting for music.
Bonsall struggled with addiction and had several run-ins with the law as a young adult, but has since turned his life around and now plays in several punk bands. In a shocking later twist, a man Bonsall had met in jail impersonated him to victimise women and was eventually sentenced to 274 years in prison for his crimes.
Celebrity Net Worth estimates Bonsall's fortune at just $5,000 (£3.7k), one of the lowest positive valuations on the site.
Best known as the lovelorn Skippy Handelman, Marc Price appeared in 51 episodes of Family Ties across all seven seasons. The Keatons' goofy neighbor was Alex's friend and spent years nursing an unrequited crush on Mallory.
Price later moved behind the camera, producing shows including Ricki Lake, Inside Edition and National Lampoon's Funny Money, while also working as a stand-up comedian and opening for stars including Jay Leno and Jerry Seinfeld.
As the youngest Keaton daughter for much of the series, Tina Yothers played athletic tomboy Jennifer, who generally shared her parents' liberal outlook rather than Alex's right-wing views. She appeared in 176 episodes across all seven seasons of Family Ties.
After the sitcom ended, Yothers took on a handful of acting roles before branching out into music with the band Jaded and later appearing on reality shows including Celebrity Fit Club, Celebrity Wife Swap and What Not to Wear.
Born into a famous Hollywood family, Tracy Nelson is the daughter of singer and actor Ricky Nelson and the granddaughter of TV stars Ozzie and Harriet Nelson. She appeared on Family Ties as Deena Marx, a popular classmate who Alex briefly dates after pretending to share her feminist views.
Nelson later starred in Father Dowling Mysteries and had recurring roles in Melrose Place and Murphy Brown. A three-time cancer survivor, she has also become a tireless advocate for cancer research.
Dan Hedaya brought his trademark gruff edge to the role of Nick Moore's estranged father Joe, a flashy used car salesman trying to rebuild his relationship with his son.
The prolific character actor also played Carla's ex-husband Nick Tortelli on Cheers and its short-lived spin-off The Tortellis. His lengthy screen career includes iconic movies such as Blood Simple, The Addams Family, Clueless, The Usual Suspects and Mulholland Drive.
As fashion-loving Mallory Keaton, Justine Bateman became one of the breakout stars of Family Ties, appearing in 176 episodes and earning two Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe nod. Acting runs in her real-life family: her younger brother is Arrested Development and Ozark star Jason Bateman, and the siblings later appeared together on the former.
Justine has worked as a writer, producer and director too, making her feature directing debut with 2021's Violet. She also garnered a UCLA degree after returning to education later in life.
Michael Gross played Steven Keaton, the liberal former hippie raising four children with wife Elyse, throughout all seven seasons of Family Ties. After the sitcom ended, Gross found another enduring role as eccentric survivalist Burt Gummer in 1990's Tremors, returning for numerous sequels and a TV spin-off over the following three decades.
He has also appeared in shows including ER, How I Met Your Mother, Suits and Grace and Frankie. Away from acting, Gross is a devoted rail enthusiast and part-owner of a New Mexico railroad.
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As liberal architect and ex-hippie Elyse Keaton, Meredith Baxter was the maternal anchor of Family Ties, appearing across all seven seasons. She was already a familiar TV face thanks to Bridget Loves Bernie and acclaimed drama Family, which earned her two Emmy nominations.
Baxter later became a prolific TV movie star, picking up another Emmy nod for A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story. In 2009, she publicly came out as a lesbian, and two years later published her memoir Untied.
Few Family Ties stars are as beloved as Michael J Fox, whose portrayal of ambitious Young Republican Alex P Keaton turned him into the show's breakout star and earned him three Emmys and a Golden Globe. Back to the Future then made him a global movie star, while Spin City brought further acclaim.
Diagnosed with Parkinson's disease at just 29, Fox has gone on to become an extraordinary advocate, after founding the Michael J Fox Foundation in 2000. It has since raised more than $2.5 billion (£1.9bn) for Parkinson's research. Fox's humanitarian work earned him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2025.
Tracy Pollan first met future husband Michael J Fox on Family Ties, where she played Alex's girlfriend Ellen Reed in 13 episodes across seasons four and five. The pair weren't romantically involved at the time, but reunited while making the 1988 movie Bright Lights, Big City and married later that year.
Pollan's later work includes an acclaimed stint in Law & Order: SVU, as well as numerous TV movies. She and Fox share four children and have now been married for almost four decades, a rarity in Hollywood. Her $65 million (£48.3m) net worth estimate is combined with that of her husband.
Before becoming one of the biggest stars of the 1990s, Courteney Cox had a recurring role in Family Ties as psychology student Lauren Miller, Alex's girlfriend during the final two seasons.
Her career reached another level in 1994 when she landed the role of Monica Geller on Friends, appearing in all 236 episodes across 10 seasons. Cox earned around $90 million (£66.7m) in base salary from the show alone, plus tens of millions more in royalties.
The star has also enjoyed huge success with the Scream franchise and Cougar Town, with production work further boosting her earnings.
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