Film & TV · born 1955J. K. SimmonsactorOscar-winning character actor (Whiplash, Spider-Man) who was born in Grosse Pointe, spent his first ten years there and remains a devoted Detroit Tigers fan.DETROIT / A living lexicon / ¼
Famous Detroiters
Detroit's famous people in one place: when they were born, what they did, how they are tied to the city, and the Detroit places that were theirs.
- 1,743 famous people
- 96 Detroit places
- 18 fields
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
64 people · 1/2 page
Clear filtersFilm & TV · born 1955J. K. SimmonsactorOscar-winning character actor (Whiplash, Spider-Man) who was born in Grosse Pointe, spent his first ten years there and remains a devoted Detroit Tigers fan.
Science & invention · born 1954Jeffrey Sachseconomist, public policy analystEconomist and longtime United Nations adviser on poverty and sustainable development, born in Detroit and raised in suburban Oak Park.
Film & TV · 1927–1999George C. Scottactor, directorOscar-winning star of Patton who grew up in Detroit and graduated from Redford High School before joining the Marines.
Architecture & design · 1910–1961Eero Saarinenarchitect, industrial designerFinnish-American architect who grew up at Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills and ran his office there; his first masterpiece was the GM Technical Center in Warren.
Film & TV · 1961–2023Tom SizemoreactorDetroit-born, Wayne State-trained character actor of Heat, True Romance and Saving Private Ryan.
Film & TV · born 1933Tom Skerrittactor, directorEmmy-winning actor of M*A*S*H, Alien, Top Gun and Picket Fences who grew up in Detroit, graduated from Mackenzie High School and studied at Wayne State.
Music · born 1975Sufjan Stevenssinger, songwriter, multi-instrumentalistIndie songwriter born in Detroit who lived in the city until age nine and later saluted it on his 2003 album Michigan.
Fashion · born 1955Anna Suifashion designerDetroit-born fashion designer whose rock-and-roll, vintage-inspired label became a global brand; she keeps returning to her hometown.
Music · born 1988Big Seanrapper, songwriterRapper raised in Detroit from infancy whose albums Detroit and Detroit 2 honor his hometown; he runs a youth foundation in the city and works with the Pistons.
Science & invention · 1924–2021Isadore SingermathematicianMathematician who, with Michael Atiyah, proved the Atiyah–Singer index theorem, a bridge between geometry and physics; born and raised in Detroit.
Film & TV · born 1943Lin ShayeactressDetroit-born horror icon of the Insidious films and Farrelly brothers comedies, sister of New Line Cinema founder Robert Shaye.
Film & TV · born 1975Dax Shepardactor, comedian, filmmaker, podcasterActor and Armchair Expert podcast host who grew up in Detroit's northwestern suburbs, the car-loving son of a GM employee.
Theatre & dance · 1925–2014Elaine Stritchactress, singer, comedianBroadway's tough, funny star of Company and At Liberty was born in Detroit, and after six decades in New York came home to Birmingham, Michigan, to spend her last year.
Politics · born 1976Elissa Slotkinpolitician, former CIA analystFormer CIA analyst and Pentagon official raised on a farm in Holly, Oakland County, and schooled at Cranbrook Kingswood; U.S. senator from Michigan since 2025.
Literature · born 1967Ruta Sepetyshistorical novelistCarnegie Medal–winning author of Between Shades of Gray, born in Detroit to a Lithuanian refugee family and raised in the city's northwestern suburbs.
Literature · born 1949Jim Starlincomics writer and artistDetroit-born comics artist and writer who created Thanos, Gamora and Drax and wrote The Infinity Gauntlet, the source of Marvel's biggest film saga.
Sports · born 1964Otmar Szafnauerengineer, Formula One team principalRomanian-born, Detroit-raised engineer who went from Ford program manager to running Force India, Racing Point, Aston Martin and Alpine in Formula One.
Music · 1941–2023Barrett Strongsinger, songwriterSinger of "Money (That's What I Want)," Motown's first hit, who became the lyricist behind "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone."
Music · 1936–2008Levi Stubbssinger, voice actorLifelong Detroiter and lead voice of the Four Tops, formed with Pershing High School friends, who sang “Reach Out I'll Be There” and is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery.
Film & TV · born 1958Ellen Sandweissactress, singerCheryl in The Evil Dead, a Detroit-born high school friend of Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell whose film premiered at Detroit's Redford Theatre in 1981.
Film & TV · born 1939Robert Shayefilm executive, producer, director, actorDetroit-born founder of New Line Cinema, the studio behind A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Lord of the Rings, and a graduate of Mumford High School.
Film & TV · born 1955Joel Surnowtelevision writer and producerCo-creator of the thriller series 24 and La Femme Nikita, born in Detroit and raised first in Michigan and then in Los Angeles.
Music · born 1964Kevin SaundersonDJ, record producer, label ownerOne of the Belleville Three who invented Detroit techno; his Inner City hits carried the city's sound onto pop charts worldwide.
Science & invention · born 1963Ulana Suprunphysician, activist, health minister of UkraineDetroit-born radiologist from the city's Ukrainian community who trained at Wayne State and Henry Ford Hospital and later served as Ukraine's acting health minister (2016–2019).
Film & TV · born 1976Dan Scanlonanimation director, writer, storyboard artistPixar director of Monsters University and the Oscar-nominated Onward, who grew up in Clawson and drew Onward from the loss of his father.
Music · born 1987Kierra Sheardsinger, songwriter, evangelistDetroit-born gospel singer, daughter of Karen Clark Sheard and granddaughter of Mattie Moss Clark, with five No. 1 gospel albums.
Music · 1948–1994Fred "Sonic" Smithguitarist, songwriterMC5 guitarist who led Sonic's Rendezvous Band, met Patti Smith at Detroit's Lafayette Coney Island in 1976, and spent his life in metro Detroit.
Music · born 1975Colin Stetsonsaxophonist, multi-reedist, composerAnn Arbor–born saxophonist, trained at the University of Michigan, known for circular-breathing solo records and work with Arcade Fire and Bon Iver.
Music · born 1934George Shirleyoperatic tenor, music educatorDetroit-raised tenor who became the first African American tenor to sing leading roles at the Metropolitan Opera, and the first Black music teacher in Detroit's high schools.
Music · 1942–2013Richard StreetsingerDetroit-born singer of the Distants and the Monitors who joined the Temptations in 1971 and sang with them until 1993.
Civil rights & activism · 1903–1942John Siegjournalist, railroad worker, resistance fighterDetroit-born son of a German mechanic who became a Berlin journalist and a core member of the anti-Nazi resistance network the Gestapo called the Red Orchestra.
Sports · born 1949Ted Simmonsbaseball catcherHighland Park-born, Southfield-raised switch-hitting catcher, one of the best-hitting catchers in baseball history and a 2020 Hall of Fame electee.
Theatre & dance · 1910–1998Roger L. Stevenstheatrical producer, arts administrator, real estate executiveDetroit-born real estate dealmaker turned Broadway producer of West Side Story, founding chairman of the Kennedy Center and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Politics · 1903–1961George G. Sadowskilawyer, politicianDetroit-born son of a Polish-American family who went from the city's east-side schools to the Michigan Senate and three terms in Congress in the 1930s.
Music · 1932–2015Joseph Silversteinviolinist, conductorDetroit-born violinist, the son of a Detroit school music teacher, who was concertmaster of the Boston Symphony for 22 years and music director of the Utah Symphony.
Music · 1947–2024Paul Schoenfieldcomposer, pianistDetroit-born composer and pianist who blended classical music with folk, Jewish and popular styles, best known for the piano trio Café Music.
Music · born 1960Karen Clark Sheardsinger, songwriterYoungest of the Clark Sisters, a Detroit gospel singer whose solo debut Finally Karen (1997) made her one of the genre's leading voices; Grammy winner for "Blessed & Highly Favored".
MusicGuilty Simpsonrapper, songwriterDeep-voiced Detroit rapper, one of J Dilla's favorite MCs, who recorded for Stones Throw and formed Random Axe with Black Milk.
Music · 1936–2013Bobby SmithsingerPrincipal lead singer of the Spinners from their founding at a Ferndale high school in 1954 until 2013.
Politics · 1882–1942John W. Smithpipefitter, postmaster, mayor of DetroitFormer newsboy and pipefitter who rose to postmaster and mayor, defeating a Klan-backed write-in candidate in 1924 and serving twice (1924–1928 and 1933).The lexicon keeps growing. Every entry lists its sources at the bottom. Dates were checked against Wikidata and Wikipedia. The texts are our own.