Music · 1958–2009
Michael Jacksonsinger, songwriter, dancerThe King of Pop, whose career began when the Jackson 5 auditioned for Motown in Detroit in 1968; he later gave his famous glove and fedora to the Motown Museum.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.
- 1,940 famous people
- 515 Detroit places
- 19 fields
Hungarian ties 22 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Origin and citizenship
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
179 people · 1/4 page
Clear filtersMusic · 1958–2009Michael Jacksonsinger, songwriter, dancerThe King of Pop, whose career began when the Jackson 5 auditioned for Motown in Detroit in 1968; he later gave his famous glove and fedora to the Motown Museum.
Music · born 1958Madonnasinger, songwriter, producer, actressThe “Queen of Pop,” raised in the Detroit suburbs of Pontiac and Rochester Hills, a Rochester Adams High School graduate who left Michigan for New York in 1978.
Comedy · 1951–2014Robin Williamscomedian, actorOscar-winning comic genius who spent his early teens in Bloomfield Hills, where his father was a Ford executive, and attended Detroit Country Day School.
Music · born 1950
Stevie Wondersinger, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producerBlind child prodigy raised in Detroit who signed with Motown at 11 and grew into one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century.
Business & brands · born 1956Steve Ballmerbusinessman, investor, NBA team ownerMicrosoft's CEO from 2000 to 2014 was born in Detroit, the son of a Ford manager, grew up in Farmington Hills and graduated from Detroit Country Day School.
Comedy · born 1953Tim Allencomedian, actorHome Improvement star and voice of Buzz Lightyear who grew up in Birmingham, Michigan, learned stand-up in Detroit's clubs and set his hit sitcom in suburban Detroit.
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.
Film & TV · born 1959Sam Raimifilm director, producer, screenwriterRoyal Oak-born director who launched The Evil Dead from metro Detroit, premiered it at the Redford Theatre and later shot Crimewave on Detroit streets.
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 · 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.
Music · born 1950Suzi Quatrosinger, bass guitarist, songwriter, actressThe leather-clad bass-playing rock star grew up in Detroit and Grosse Pointe and started out at 14 in the Pleasure Seekers, an all-girl band with her sisters.
Science & invention · born 1951Ben Carsonpediatric neurosurgeon, author, politicianDetroit-born pediatric neurosurgeon who led the first separation of twins joined at the back of the head, later a presidential candidate and U.S. housing secretary.
Notorious figures · 1956–2002
Aileen Wuornosserial killerSerial killer executed in Florida in 2002, born in Rochester and raised in Troy, two Oakland County suburbs of Detroit.
Film & TV · 1950–2009John Hughesfilm director, screenwriter, producerWriter-director of The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller's Day Off, who spent his first twelve years in Grosse Pointe as a Gordie Howe fan.
Politics · born 1959Jennifer Granholmlawyer, governor of Michigan, U.S. energy secretaryCanadian-born lawyer who launched her career in Detroit as a clerk for Judge Damon Keith and Wayne County's top lawyer, then became Michigan's first woman attorney general and governor (2003–2011).
Film & TV · born 1956Rob Paulsenvoice actor, voice directorDetroit-born voice of Yakko and Pinky in Animaniacs and of two different Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Film & TV · born 1952Billy Westvoice actor, musicianDetroit-born voice of Futurama's Fry, Farnsworth and Zoidberg, Ren & Stimpy and the red M&M, who grew up in Boston and New Jersey.
Press & broadcasting · born 1959Chris Hansentelevision journalist, presenterDateline NBC's To Catch a Predator host, who grew up in the Detroit suburbs and learned investigative reporting at WXYZ and WDIV.
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.
Film & TV · born 1953Tom Hulceactor, theater producerOscar-nominated Mozart of Amadeus, born in Detroit and raised in Plymouth, the son of a Ford Motor Company employee.
Music · born 1958Anita Bakersinger, songwriterEight-time Grammy winner of “Sweet Love,” raised in Detroit, who started out singing in the city's nightclubs and still lives in metro Detroit.
Film & TV · born 1950Christine Lahtiactress, directorOscar-winning director and Emmy-winning star of Chicago Hope, born in Birmingham, Michigan, and a graduate of Seaholm High School.
Sports · born 1959Kevin Nashprofessional wrestler, actorWWE and WCW headliner born in southwest Detroit, whose ring name Diesel was a nod to his hometown's nickname, the Motor City.
Music · born 1951Jackie Jacksonsinger, songwriterThe oldest Jackson brother and a founding member of the Jackson 5, who won their Motown contract at an audition at Hitsville U.S.A. in Detroit in 1968.
Music · born 1957Marlon Jacksonsinger, dancerJackson 5 singer and dancer who, at 11, auditioned with his brothers at Motown's Hitsville U.S.A. studio in Detroit in July 1968.
Science & invention · born 1954Bill Joycomputer scientist, entrepreneurAuthor of the vi editor, a key developer of BSD Unix and co-founder of Sun Microsystems, born in the Detroit suburb of Farmington Hills.
Literature · born 1958Mitch Albomauthor, newspaper columnist, radio host, philanthropistDetroit Free Press columnist since 1985 and author of Tuesdays with Morrie, whose charities have funded shelters, clinics and homes across Detroit.
Sports · born 1952George Gervinbasketball shooting guardHall of Fame scorer nicknamed "the Iceman", born and raised in Detroit, who became one of the greatest shooting guards in ABA and NBA history after starring at Eastern Michigan.
Literature · born 1951Bob Blackanarchist writerDetroit-born anarchist essayist best known for 'The Abolition of Work' (1985), who grew up in suburban Oak Park.
Sports · born 1951Bob McAdoobasketball player, Hall of FamerFormer NBA MVP whose brief, injury-marred stop with the worst team of his career, the 1979–81 Pistons, still produced a 21-point scoring average.
Music · born 1954Ray Parker Jr.guitarist, singer, songwriter, producerDetroit-born guitarist behind the “Ghostbusters” theme, who started as a teenager in the house band of the city's famous 20 Grand nightclub.
Music · born 1956Dianne Reevesjazz singerFive-time Grammy-winning jazz singer born in Detroit into a musical family and raised in Denver.
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.
Film & TV · born 1952S. Epatha MerkersonactressLaw & Order's Lt. Anita Van Buren grew up in Detroit, graduated from Cooley High School and earned her theatre degree at Wayne State University.
Film & TV · born 1957Laura Innesactress, television directorER's Dr. Kerry Weaver and an Emmy-nominated TV director, born in Pontiac and raised in Birmingham, where she graduated from Seaholm High School.
Literature · born 1956Katherine Applegatechildren's and young-adult authorNewbery Medal–winning author of The One and Only Ivan and creator of the Animorphs series, born in Ann Arbor on the western edge of the Detroit metropolitan region.
Film & TV · born 1956Vondie Curtis-Hallactor, film and television directorDetroit-born actor and director, Dr. Dennis Hancock on Chicago Hope, who wrote and directed the Detroit-set cult film Gridlock'd.
Film & TV · born 1951David Patrick Kellyactor, musician, lyricistDetroit-born character actor, forever Luther of The Warriors, who began writing musicals while studying at the University of Detroit.
Politics · born 1958Gary Peterspolitician, former naval officerPontiac-born Democrat who represented eastern Detroit in the U.S. House and has been Michigan's U.S. senator since 2015.
Film & TV · born 1953Curtis Armstrongactor, voice actorDetroit-born actor famous as Booger in Revenge of the Nerds, who grew up in Berkley and trained at Oakland University's Academy of Dramatic Art.
Comedy · born 1956David Alan Grieractor, comedianIn Living Color star and Tony-winning stage actor from Detroit, a Cass Tech graduate whose family marched with Martin Luther King Jr. in the city in 1963.
Politics · born 1958Rick Snyderbusiness executive, governor of MichiganMichigan's governor (2011–2019) who put Detroit under an emergency manager, approved its 2013 bankruptcy filing and backed the 'grand bargain' that ended it.
Sports · born 1955Eric Bischoffprofessional wrestling producer, executive, on-air personalityDetroit-born wrestling executive who built World Championship Wrestling into a ratings powerhouse in the 1990s and later became a fixture of WWE television.
Sports · born 1957Bill Laimbeerbasketball player and coachCenter of the Pistons' rough-and-tumble "Bad Boys" teams who won back-to-back NBA titles in 1989 and 1990, then coached the Detroit Shock to three WNBA championships.Thomas Ligottihorror writer, philosopherCult master of philosophical horror who was born in Detroit, studied at Wayne State and spent 23 years as an editor at Gale Research while writing his stories in the city.
Religion · born 1952Joseph W. TobinCatholic cardinal, Archbishop of NewarkDetroit-born Redemptorist priest who served Southwest Detroit's Holy Redeemer parish for eleven years before becoming a cardinal and Archbishop of Newark.
Sports · born 1950Sheila Youngspeed skater and track cyclistDetroit-area speed skater and cyclist who became the first American athlete to win three medals at a single Winter Olympics, in Innsbruck in 1976.
Music · 1957–2017Geri Allenjazz pianist, composer, educatorPontiac-born, Detroit-raised jazz pianist and educator, a Cass Tech graduate and protégée of trumpeter Marcus Belgrave, who became one of the most original pianists of her generation.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 ↗