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.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
- 20 fields
Hungarian ties 22 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
16 people
Clear filtersFashion · born 1955Anna Suifashion designerDetroit-born fashion designer whose rock-and-roll, vintage-inspired label became a global brand; she keeps returning to her hometown.
Auto industry · 1875–1966Alfred P. Sloanpresident, CEO and chairman of General MotorsThe management architect of General Motors, who led it from its Detroit headquarters past Ford to become the world's largest automaker.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Press & broadcasting · 1835–1906James E. Scrippsnewspaper publisher, founder of The Detroit News, art patronLondon-born publisher who founded The Evening News (today's Detroit News) in 1873 and helped create the Detroit Museum of Art, forerunner of the DIA.
Auto industry · 1880–1956William Bushnell Stoutengineer, inventor, aircraft and car designerDearborn engineer whose all-metal airplanes led to the Ford Trimotor, who ran one of America's first scheduled airlines from Ford Airport and designed the Stout Scarab.
Business & brands · 1854–1924Frederick K. Stearnspharmaceutical manufacturer, owner of the Detroit Wolverines, DSO founderPresident of Detroit's Frederick Stearns & Company who owned the 1887 champion Detroit Wolverines and organized what became the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.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 ↗