Press & broadcasting · born 1950
George Nooryradio talk-show host, TV news producerDetroit-born host of the late-night radio show Coast to Coast AM, who started as a newscaster at WCAR and a news producer at WJBK-TV.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
- 22 fields
Hungarian ties 31 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Origin and citizenship
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
1747 people · 25/37 page
Clear filtersPress & broadcasting · born 1950George Nooryradio talk-show host, TV news producerDetroit-born host of the late-night radio show Coast to Coast AM, who started as a newscaster at WCAR and a news producer at WJBK-TV.
Film & TV · born 1946Suzanne de Passeproducer, record and television executiveHarlem-raised executive who joined Motown in Detroit as Berry Gordy's creative assistant, shaped the Jackson 5's act and later ran Motown Productions.
Music · born 1944Scherrie PaynesingerDetroit-born singer, sister of Freda Payne, who led the Invictus group the Glass House and then co-led the Supremes from 1973 to 1977.
Music · born 1962Roxy PetruccidrummerMetro Detroit drummer who co-founded the glam metal band Madam X in Detroit in 1981 with her sister Maxine and later drove Vixen, one of the most successful all-female hard rock bands.
Religion · 1767–1832
Gabriel RichardCatholic priest, educator, territorial delegate to CongressFrench priest of Sainte-Anne's who wrote Detroit's motto after the fire of 1805, co-founded the University of Michigan and printed Michigan's first newspaper.
Visual art · 1858–1930Julius Rolshovenpainter, teacherDetroit-born painter who trained in Germany, taught in Paris and London, lived in a castle near Florence and painted the Southwest.Dennis Rowlandjazz singer, actorDetroit-born jazz singer who worked as a singer and actor in the city before Count Basie hired him in 1977 as his band vocalist for seven years.
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.
Sports · 1946–2015Charlie SandersAmerican football tight end, broadcaster, scoutHall of Fame tight end who played his whole career with the Lions (1968–1977) and served the franchise for decades afterward as broadcaster, coach and scout.Dana SchutzpainterPainter from Livonia, in suburban Detroit, known for inventive, colorful figurative canvases that stage strange scenarios and imagined events.
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.
Sports · born 1955Billy SimsAmerican football running backHeisman Trophy winner and first overall pick of 1980 who revived the Lions in the Pontiac Silverdome before a knee injury ended his career in 1984.
Business & brands · 1893–1932Eddie Stinsonpilot, aircraft manufacturerStunt flyer and record-setting pilot who, backed by Detroit investors, founded the Stinson Aircraft Company, maker of the SB-1 Detroiter, one of the first enclosed-cabin airliners.
Law · 1932–2017Anna Diggs Taylorfederal judge, civil rights lawyerYale-trained lawyer who built her career in Detroit and in 1979 became Michigan's first Black woman federal judge; in 2006 she struck down the NSA's warrantless wiretapping program.
MusicRosie Thomassinger-songwriter, comedianDetroit-raised indie folk singer-songwriter known for gentle Sub Pop albums and for her comic stage character Sheila Saputo.
Music · 1944–1980Georgeanna TillmansingerInkster-born original member of the Marvelettes, heard on "Please Mr. Postman", who left the group because of illness and died at 35.
Sports · born 1957Lou Whitakerbaseball second basemanTigers second baseman for 19 seasons and half of baseball's longest double-play partnership with Alan Trammell; his No. 1 was retired in 2022.
Music · 1938–1995Ronnie Whitesinger, songwriterDetroit-born co-founder of the Miracles who co-wrote "My Girl" and brought the young Stevie Wonder to Motown's attention.
Music · 1893–1940Rudy Wiedoeftsaxophonist, clarinetist, composerDetroit-born virtuoso of the C-melody saxophone whose 300-plus recordings and novelty solos made the saxophone a craze in the 1910s and 1920s.
Military · 1823–1907Orlando B. WillcoxUnion general, lawyer, authorDetroit-born West Pointer and Detroit lawyer who led the 1st Michigan Infantry to Bull Run, won the Medal of Honor and served as a Union general.
Music · 1936–2018Eddie WillisguitaristFunk Brothers guitarist, raised in Detroit from age 14, whose muted "chank" rhythm guitar colors Motown hits from "Please Mr. Postman" to "I Was Made to Love Her".
Music · born 1953Vickie Winanssinger, songwriter, producer, comedianDetroit gospel singer called "The Hardest Working Woman in Gospel Music", known for "Shake Yourself Loose" and her Live in Detroit albums.
Sports · 1915–1992Alex WojciechowiczAmerican football center and linebackerHall of Fame two-way lineman, one of Fordham's "Seven Blocks of Granite", who was the Lions' first-round pick in 1938 and anchored their line until 1946.
Music · 1943–2021Wanda YoungsingerInkster-born lead singer of the Marvelettes from the mid-1960s, heard on "Don't Mess with Bill" and "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game".Lettie Beckon Alstoncomposer, pianist, professorDetroit-born composer and pianist, the first African American to earn a doctorate in composition at the University of Michigan, who taught at Oakland University for two decades.
Music · 1944–2023Katherine AndersonsingerInkster-raised co-founder of the Marvelettes who sang with the group through its Motown run and later mentored young Detroit singers.
Music · born 1934Jack Ashfordpercussionist, vibraphonist, producerFunk Brothers percussionist whose tambourine is on hundreds of Motown records, from "Nowhere to Run" to "War"; the last surviving Funk Brother.Everett Barksdalejazz guitarist, session musicianDetroit-born guitarist of Art Tatum's trio and busy New York session player, heard on "Love Is Strange" and the Drifters' "Under the Boardwalk".
Sports · born 1945Lem BarneyAmerican football cornerback and return specialistHall of Fame Lions cornerback of 1967–1977 who, with teammate Mel Farr, can be heard on Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On".Charles Baxternovelist, short-story writer, essayist, teacherNovelist of The Feast of Love who began his university teaching career at Wayne State in Detroit and set much of his Michigan-rooted fiction nearby.Mary V. Becklawyer, politicianUkrainian-American lawyer of Lemko descent who in 1949 became the first woman elected to Detroit's city council and later served as its president and as acting mayor.Daniel Bellminimal techno DJ and producerMinimal techno pioneer who moved to Detroit, recorded with Richie Hawtin as Cybersonik and ran the Accelerate label and 7th City distribution.
Sports · 1854–1927Charlie Bennettbaseball catcherStar catcher of the 1880s Detroit Wolverines who lost both legs in a train accident; the Tigers' first ballpark, Bennett Park, was named for him.Ara Berberianoperatic bass, actorDetroit-born Armenian American bass who sang 334 performances at the Metropolitan Opera; a nature preserve in Southfield is named for him.Faruq Z. Beyjazz saxophonist, composer, poetDetroit saxophonist and composer who led Griot Galaxy, the city's leading avant-garde band of the late 1970s and 1980s.
Politics · 1792–1859John Biddlearmy officer, mayor of Detroit, territorial delegatePhiladelphia-born officer who commanded Fort Shelby, served as Detroit's mayor in 1827–1828 and founded the estate that became the city of Wyandotte.
Press & broadcasting · 1864–1949George Gough Boothnewspaper publisher, arts patronDetroit News publisher who, with his wife Ellen Scripps Booth, founded Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills and championed the Arts and Crafts movement in Detroit.
Sports · 1906–1968Tommy Bridgesbaseball pitcherCurveball pitcher who spent his entire career with the Tigers (1930–1946) and won two games in the 1935 World Series.E. M. Bronernovelist, playwright, feminist ritual writer, professorDetroit-born Jewish feminist author of A Weave of Women and The Women's Haggadah, who studied and taught for decades at Wayne State.
Music · 1885–1957Gene Bucklyricist, sheet music illustrator, producer, ASCAP presidentCorktown-raised illustrator and lyricist who wrote for the Ziegfeld Follies, discovered Will Rogers and Ed Wynn for Broadway and led ASCAP from 1925 to 1942.
Music · born 1983Rob Cantorsinger-songwriter, guitarist, video creatorBloomfield Hills–raised guitarist and singer of Tally Hall, the band he formed at the University of Michigan, later known for the viral song “Shia LaBeouf.”
Music · born 1963Gerald Cleaverjazz drummer, composer, bandleaderDetroit-born drummer, son of drummer John Cleaver Jr., who taught at the University of Michigan and became a leading figure of the New York creative-jazz scene.Dennis Coffeyguitarist, producerDetroit guitarist who brought wah-wah and fuzz to Norman Whitfield's Temptations records and scored the 1971 instrumental hit "Scorpio".
Law · 1909–1997George W. Crockett Jr.civil rights lawyer, judge, congressmanRadical civil rights lawyer who co-founded one of the first integrated law firms in Detroit, became a storied Recorder's Court judge after the 1969 New Bethel incident and then served in Congress (1980–1991).Jimmy DeSanaphotographerDetroit-born photographer who became a key figure of New York's East Village punk and No Wave art scene of the late 1970s and 1980s.
Theatre & dance · born 1969Lydia R. Diamondplaywright, professorDetroit-born playwright of Stick Fly (2008), The Bluest Eye adaptation and Smart People, and winner of the 2020 Horton Foote Playwriting Award.
Music · born 1983Jimmy Edgarelectronic producer, sound designer, visual artistDetroit-born producer who played the city's raves at 15, signed to Warp at 18 and set out to “capture the essence of Detroit” on his debut Color Strip.Steve Farmerguitarist, songwriter, lyricistDetroit-born guitarist of the Amboy Dukes who wrote the lyrics of the 1968 psychedelic hit “Journey to the Center of the Mind” with Ted Nugent.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 ↗