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
- 5 fields
Hungarian ties 22 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
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Comedy · born 1969Ken Jeongcomedian, actor, physicianDetroit-born comedian and licensed physician, famous as Mr. Chow in The Hangover and Ben Chang in Community.
Film & TV · born 1961Al Jeantelevision writer, producerLongtime showrunner of The Simpsons, born in Detroit and raised in Farmington Hills, where he graduated from Harrison High School.
Sports · born 1967Curtis Josephice hockey goaltenderVeteran goaltender nicknamed "Cujo" who signed with the Red Wings in 2002 hoping to finally win a Stanley Cup, and helped Detroit finish first overall the next season.
Film & TV · born 1966Walter Emanuel Jonesactor, martial artist, dancer, singerThe original Black Ranger, Zack Taylor, of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, born and raised in Detroit.
Film & TV · born 1962John Marshall JonesactorDetroit-born actor best known as Floyd Henderson, the widowed father on the sitcom Smart Guy.
Literature · born 1965Tyehimba JesspoetDetroit-born poet whose Olio, a daring book about Black musicians and performers before the Harlem Renaissance, won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.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 ↗