Music · born 1948Alice Coopersinger, songwriterThe shock-rock pioneer was born in Detroit, grew up in East Detroit, and found his first real audience when his band moved to a Pontiac farmhouse in 1970.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.
- 1,912 famous people
- 135 Detroit places
- 21 fields
Hungarian ties 22 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
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104 people · 1/3 page
Clear filtersMusic · born 1948Alice Coopersinger, songwriterThe shock-rock pioneer was born in Detroit, grew up in East Detroit, and found his first real audience when his band moved to a Pontiac farmhouse in 1970.
Film & TV · born 1958Bruce Campbellactor, producer, director, writerRoyal Oak-born cult actor, Ash of The Evil Dead, who made his first films with Sam Raimi in Detroit's suburbs and premiered them in Detroit theaters.
Auto industry · 1875–1940Walter P. Chryslerfounder of Chrysler CorporationKansas railroad mechanic who ran Buick, founded Chrysler Corporation in Detroit in 1925 and made it one of the Big Three by buying Dodge in 1928.
Music · born 1941George Clintonsinger, songwriter, producer, bandleaderLeader of Parliament-Funkadelic, who worked as a Motown staff writer and built P-Funk on Detroit labels and in Detroit studios such as United Sound Systems.
Sports · born 1981José Calderónbasketball point guard, team executiveSpanish point guard who spent 14 NBA seasons mostly with Toronto but returned to the Pistons twice, once as a starter and once at the end of his career.
Sports · 1886–1961Ty Cobbbaseball player, center fielder, player-managerWidely regarded as one of the greatest hitters in baseball history, Cobb played 22 of his 24 major-league seasons with the Detroit Tigers and served as the team's player-manager for his last six.
Science & invention · 1864–1929Charles Horton CooleysociologistPioneer of American sociology who coined the 'looking-glass self'; he spent his whole life in Ann Arbor and taught the University of Michigan's first sociology course.
Auto industry · 1878–1941Louis Chevroletracing driver, engineer, co-founder of ChevroletSwiss-born racer who designed the first Chevrolet in a Detroit workshop in 1911 and later returned to the city's factories as a mechanic.
Science & invention · 1872–1942Heber Doust CurtisastronomerAstronomer who argued in the 1920 'Great Debate' that spiral nebulae are other galaxies; he went to school and briefly taught Latin in Detroit, and later ran the University of Michigan's observatories.
Music · 1937–2007Alice Coltranejazz pianist, harpist, composer, spiritual leaderDetroit-born pianist and harpist, a Cass Tech product who played the city's jazz clubs before joining and marrying John Coltrane and pioneering spiritual jazz.
Music · 1929–1998Betty Carterjazz singer, bandleader, educatorFlint-born, Detroit-raised jazz singer famed for her daring scat and phrasing, who won a Paradise Theatre talent contest and sat in with Parker and Gillespie before joining Lionel Hampton.
Politics · 1782–1866Lewis Cassterritorial governor, U.S. senator, secretary of stateGovernor of Michigan Territory from Detroit for 18 years and 1848 Democratic presidential nominee; Cass Avenue and Cass Tech bear his name, and he rests at Elmwood.
Politics · 1929–2019John Conyerspolitician, lawyerDetroit's congressman for more than half a century (1965–2017), the longest-serving African American member of Congress and Rosa Parks's longtime employer.
Sports · born 1993Kentavious Caldwell-Popebasketball player, shooting guardEighth overall pick in 2013 who became the Pistons' starting shooting guard for four seasons and their best perimeter defender before winning NBA titles elsewhere.
Sports · born 1959Rick Carlislebasketball coach, former playerHall-of-Fame-caliber coach who ran the Pistons bench for two seasons, reaching the Eastern Conference semifinals before Detroit let him go with a year left on his contract.
Press & broadcasting · 1891–1979Charles CoughlinCatholic priest, radio broadcaster, political agitatorThe Royal Oak 'Radio Priest' whose 1930s broadcasts from the Shrine of the Little Flower reached tens of millions before turning to antisemitism and support for fascism.
Sports · born 1951Doug Collinsbasketball coach and broadcasterHead coach of the Pistons from 1995 to 1998 who built the team around a young Grant Hill and ended a long losing streak against the rival Chicago Bulls.
Theatre & dance · 1893–1974Katharine Cornellstage actress, producerBroadway's 'First Lady of the Theatre', who learned her craft in Jessie Bonstelle's stock company on the stage of Detroit's Garrick Theatre around 1918–1920.
Sports · born 1962Chris Cheliosice hockey defensemanHall of Fame defenseman who joined the Red Wings in 1999, won Stanley Cups in 2002 and 2008 and played in Detroit into his late forties.
Sports · born 1983Miguel Cabrerabaseball player, first baseman, third baseman, designated hitterVenezuelan-born slugger who spent sixteen seasons with the Tigers, won the 2012 Triple Crown, two American League MVP awards, and remains one of only three players with 3,000 hits, 500 home runs and a .300 career average.
Sports · born 1961Paul Coffeyice hockey defencemanHall of Fame defenceman, second all-time among NHL blueliners in points, who spent three and a half seasons with the Red Wings and won a Norris Trophy in Detroit.
Comedy · born 1959Dave Couliercomedian, actor, voice actorFull House's Joey Gladstone, born in Detroit and raised in St. Clair Shores, who started in stand-up at Royal Oak's Comedy Castle, where he met Bob Saget.
Politics · 1813–1879Zachariah Chandlermerchant, mayor of Detroit, U.S. senatorDetroit merchant and abolitionist who backed the Underground Railroad, served as mayor in 1851 and became Michigan's Radical Republican boss in the U.S. Senate.
Film & TV · born 1970Larry Joe Campbellactor, comedianAccording to Jim's Andy, a northern Michigan native who earned a theater master's at Wayne State, performed at The Second City Detroit and co-founded the Detroit Creativity Project.
Music · born 1969James Carterjazz saxophonist, multi-reedistDetroit-born saxophone virtuoso, trained in Donald Washington's youth ensemble, whose 1988 sit-in with Lester Bowie at the Detroit Institute of Arts launched his career.
Music · born 1966Regina Carterjazz violinistDetroit-born jazz violinist, trained at Cass Tech and Oakland University, who rose with the all-female group Straight Ahead and later won a MacArthur “genius” grant.
Sports · born 1946Don Chaneybasketball coach, former playerTwo-time NBA champion as a player elsewhere who worked as a Pistons assistant coach and later served two seasons as Detroit's head coach in the mid-1990s.
Sports · born 1960Dino Ciccarelliice hockey player, right wingerHall of Fame goal-scorer who reached his 500th career goal with the Red Wings and later opened Detroit-area sports bars named for his jersey number.
Music · born 1969Carl Craigelectronic music producer, DJ, label founderDetroit techno's leading second-wave producer, founder of Planet E Communications and co-creator of the Detroit Electronic Music Festival in Hart Plaza.
Music · born 1934Aldo CeccatoconductorMilan-born conductor who was music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 1973 to 1977 and added more than 45 works to its repertoire.
Sports · born 1978Daniel Clearyice hockey forward, front-office executiveNewfoundland-born forward who made the Red Wings out of a tryout in 2005, won the 2008 Stanley Cup as the first Newfoundlander ever to do so, and now directs the team's player development.
Sports · 1922–1990Nathaniel Cliftonbasketball and baseball playerOne of the first African American players in the NBA, who closed his basketball career with the Pistons after their move to Detroit, then joined the Negro-league Detroit Stars.
Sports · born 1976Ty Conklinice hockey goaltenderJourneyman backup goaltender who twice signed with the Red Wings, backstopping Detroit to the 2009 Stanley Cup Final and recording a memorable shutout at the Winter Classic.
Sports · born 1994Andrew Coppice hockey forwardAnn Arbor-born forward who played youth hockey with Detroit Compuware, starred at the University of Michigan and signed a five-year contract with the Red Wings in 2022.
Music · 1952–2025Carl Carltonsinger, songwriterDetroit-born soul and funk singer who started as "Little" Carl Carlton and later scored "Everlasting Love" (1974) and "She's a Bad Mama Jama" (1981).
Politics · born 1957Hansen Clarkepolitician, artistEast Side Detroiter of Bengali and African American parentage, trained as a painter, who served in both houses of the Michigan Legislature and as the first Bangladeshi American in Congress (2011–2013).
Visual art · 1912–1999Harry Callahanphotographer, educatorDetroit-born photographer who took up the camera while working at Chrysler and became one of the great innovators of American modernist photography.
Science & invention · born 1950Alexa Canadypediatric neurosurgeonThe first African American woman board-certified in neurosurgery in the United States, chief of neurosurgery at Children's Hospital of Michigan in Detroit from 1987 to 2001.
Sports · 1903–1962Mickey Cochranebaseball catcher and managerHall of Fame catcher who, as player-manager, led the Tigers to pennants in 1934 and 1935 and Detroit's first World Series title.
Politics · 1939–2021Barbara-Rose Collinspolitician, activistDetroit-born single mother turned activist who rose from the school board and City Council to become the first Black woman from Michigan elected to Congress (1991–1997).
Business & brands · 1872–1936James CouzensFord Motor Company co-founder and business manager, mayor of Detroit, U.S. senatorCanadian-born railroad clerk who became Ford's hard-driving business manager, then mayor of Detroit and a U.S. senator.
Sports · 1880–1968Sam Crawfordbaseball player, outfielderHall of Fame Tigers right fielder of 1903–1917, Ty Cobb's teammate and rival, who still holds the major-league record for career triples.
Architecture & design · 1876–1945Paul Philippe CretarchitectFrench-born Philadelphia architect who designed the Detroit Institute of Arts' Beaux-Arts museum building on Woodward Avenue (1927).
Sports · 1957–2024Earl Curetonbasketball forward and centerDetroit native who played for the University of Detroit and his hometown Pistons and won NBA titles with Philadelphia and Houston.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 ↗