Film & TV · born 1939Francis Ford Coppolafilm director, screenwriter, producerThe director of The Godfather and Apocalypse Now was born at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, and his middle name honors the city's most famous carmaker.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.
- 664 famous people
- 66 Detroit places
- 16 fields
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
16 people
Clear filtersFilm & TV · born 1939Francis Ford Coppolafilm director, screenwriter, producerThe director of The Godfather and Apocalypse Now was born at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, and his middle name honors the city's most famous carmaker.
Film & TV · born 1932Ellen BurstynactressOscar-, Tony- and Emmy-winning actress born Edna Rae Gillooly in Detroit, where she went to Cass Tech and modeled for Hudson's before leaving for the stage.
Film & TV · 1939–2014Richard KielactorDetroit-born giant of the screen, 7 ft 1.5 in tall, best remembered as Jaws, the steel-toothed henchman of two James Bond films.
Comedy · born 1939Lily Tomlincomedian, actress, writerComedy legend raised in Detroit's Virginia Park area; Cass Tech and Wayne State alumna whose characters grew out of the neighbors on her childhood block.
Film & TV · 1932–2023Piper LaurieactressThree-time Oscar nominee (The Hustler, Carrie, Children of a Lesser God) who was born Rosetta Jacobs in a one-bedroom walk-up on Detroit's Tyler Street.
Press & broadcasting · 1932–2014Casey Kasemradio host, disc jockey, voice actorDetroit-born host of American Top 40 and original voice of Shaggy in Scooby-Doo, who started on the air at Northwestern High and Detroit radio stations.
Film & TV · born 1930Robert WagneractorHart to Hart and It Takes a Thief star, born in Detroit to a Ford Motor Company salesman, who lived in the city until his family moved to Bel Air in 1937.
Music · 1935–1998Sonny Bonosinger, songwriter, producer, politicianDetroit-born half of Sonny & Cher, who later became mayor of Palm Springs and a U.S. congressman; the family left Michigan for California when he was a boy.
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.
Film & TV · 1931–2024Mitzi Gaynoractress, dancer, singerMusical film star of South Pacific, the daughter of a Hungarian-descended musician, who spent part of her childhood in Detroit before her family moved to Hollywood.
Film & TV · 1935–2019Seymour CasselactorOscar-nominated star of John Cassavetes's independent films and Wes Anderson favorite, who grew up in Detroit and started out building theater props there.
Film & TV · 1937–2012Chad EverettactorTV heartthrob Dr. Joe Gannon of Medical Center, who grew up in Dearborn, graduated from Fordson High and studied at Wayne State.
Music · 1931–2017Della Reesesinger, actress, television host, ministerBlack Bottom-born singer who went from Detroit gospel choirs and the Flame Show Bar to pop hits, her own talk show and Touched by an Angel.
Film & TV · 1930–2015Grace Lee Whitneyactress, singerStar Trek's Yeoman Janice Rand, who grew up in Detroit and began her career at 14 as a girl singer on WJR radio.
Film & TV · 1931–2015Martin MilneractorStar of the TV classics Route 66 and Adam-12, born in Detroit to a Paramount circuit dancer and a film distributor.
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.The lexicon keeps growing. Every entry lists its sources at the bottom. Dates were checked against Wikidata and Wikipedia. The texts are our own.