Auto industry · born 1961
Mary Barraautomotive executive, engineerMetro Detroit native who rose from a GM co-op student to chair and CEO of General Motors in 2014, the first woman to lead a Big Three automaker.DETROIT / A living lexicon / ¼
Famous Detroiters
People who were born here, moved here or built their careers in Detroit: musicians, carmakers, athletes, writers, inventors, civil-rights leaders and a few notorious names. With their dates, their Detroit story and the places where they lived, worked and played, closed ones included.
- 1,949 famous people
- 516 Detroit places
- 12 fields
Hungarian ties 31 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Origin and citizenship
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
12 people
Clear filtersAuto industry · born 1961Mary Barraautomotive executive, engineerMetro Detroit native who rose from a GM co-op student to chair and CEO of General Motors in 2014, the first woman to lead a Big Three automaker.
Comedy · born 1971Keegan-Michael Keyactor, comedian, writer, producerCo-creator of Key & Peele who grew up in Detroit, studied theater at the University of Detroit Mercy and co-founded Hamtramck's Planet Ant Theatre.
Sports · born 1948Rudy Tomjanovichbasketball player and coachHamtramck-born rebounding star at the University of Michigan who went on to win NBA championships as a Houston Rockets player and head coach.
Music · born 1945Mitch Ryderrock and soul singer, songwriterHamtramck-born singer whose Detroit Wheels fused rock and roll with Detroit soul on 1960s hits such as "Devil with a Blue Dress On & Good Golly Miss Molly."Jane Bartkowicztennis playerHamtramck-born Polish-American tennis star, a pupil of Jean Hoxie, who won the Wimbledon girls' title in 1964 and was one of the Original 9 who launched women's professional tennis in 1970.
Film & TV · 1932–2013Gail Kobeactress, television producerHamtramck-born daughter of Polish-American parents who acted in 1950s and 1960s television and later ran the soap operas Guiding Light and The Bold and the Beautiful as a producer.
Religion · 1933–2008Warith Deen MohammedMuslim religious leaderHamtramck-born son of Elijah Muhammad who, after 1975, led most of the Nation of Islam's followers into mainstream Sunni Islam.
Politics · 1925–2025Lucien Nedzilawyer, congressmanHamtramck-born Polish American lawyer who represented Detroit's east side and Hamtramck in Congress for twenty years (1961–1981) and led the first House inquiry into the CIA.
Military · 1917–1944Raymond Zussmansoldier, Medal of Honor recipientHamtramck-born Jewish tank officer who received the Medal of Honor for leading an attack on a French village in September 1944; a park in front of Hamtramck City Hall bears his name.
Music · born 1953Wally Palmarsinger, guitarist, songwriterHamtramck-born son of Ukrainian immigrants who founded and fronts the Romantics, the Detroit band behind “What I Like About You” and “Talking in Your Sleep.”Toi Derricottepoet, memoirist, teacherFrost Medal–winning poet and co-founder of Cave Canem, born in Hamtramck and educated in Detroit, whose first book came out from Detroit's Lotus Press.
Music · born 1937Joe BillingsleasingerHamtramck-born founder of the Contours, whose "Do You Love Me" (1962) was the Gordy label's first million seller.The lexicon keeps growing. Every entry lists its sources at the bottom. Dates were checked against Wikidata and Wikipedia. The texts are our own. Famous people's places among the sights ↗
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