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.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
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Born in
A–Z (family name)
32 people
Clear filtersFilm & 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 · 1927–1999George C. Scottactor, directorOscar-winning star of Patton who grew up in Detroit and graduated from Redford High School before joining the Marines.
Film & TV · born 1945Tom Selleckactor, producerMagnum, P.I. star born in Detroit, whose on-screen Detroit Tigers cap made him the team's most famous fan; he once took batting practice at Tiger Stadium.
Comedy · born 1964David Spadestand-up comedian, actor, podcasterSarcastic Saturday Night Live alumnus and Tommy Boy star, born in the Detroit suburb of Birmingham before his family moved west.
Film & TV · 1961–2023Tom SizemoreactorDetroit-born, Wayne State-trained character actor of Heat, True Romance and Saving Private Ryan.
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 · born 1946Paul Schraderscreenwriter, film director, criticMichigan-born writer of Taxi Driver whose directing debut, Blue Collar (1978), was shot in Detroit and at the Ford Rouge plant about three autoworkers robbing their union.
Film & TV · born 1943Lin ShayeactressDetroit-born horror icon of the Insidious films and Farrelly brothers comedies, sister of New Line Cinema founder Robert Shaye.
Film & TV · born 1975Dax Shepardactor, comedian, filmmaker, podcasterActor and Armchair Expert podcast host who grew up in Detroit's northwestern suburbs, the car-loving son of a GM employee.
Theatre & dance · 1925–2014Elaine Stritchactress, singer, comedianBroadway's tough, funny star of Company and At Liberty was born in Detroit, and after six decades in New York came home to Birmingham, Michigan, to spend her last year.
Film & TV · born 1962Grant ShowactorDetroit-born actor who played brooding mechanic Jake Hanson on Melrose Place and tycoon Blake Carrington in the Dynasty reboot.
Film & TV · born 1977Geoff StultsactorActor of 7th Heaven, The Finder and Enlisted, born in Detroit and raised in the Colorado mountains; brother of actor George Stults.
Comedy · born 1963Mary Scheeractress, comedian, writer, producerDetroit-born comedian, an original MADtv cast member and Freddie's overprotective mother Marissa Benson on Nickelodeon's iCarly.
Film & TV · born 1976Haaz SleimanactorLebanese actor of The Visitor and Killing Jesus who, after immigrating at 21, lived in metro Detroit and earned a computer science degree at Wayne State University.
Music · 1945–2024J. D. Southersinger, songwriter, actorDetroit-born songwriter behind Eagles hits like “Best of My Love” and “New Kid in Town”, and early duo partner of fellow Detroit native Glenn Frey.
Music · 1936–2008Levi Stubbssinger, voice actorLifelong Detroiter and lead voice of the Four Tops, formed with Pershing High School friends, who sang “Reach Out I'll Be There” and is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery.
Film & TV · born 1958Ellen Sandweissactress, singerCheryl in The Evil Dead, a Detroit-born high school friend of Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell whose film premiered at Detroit's Redford Theatre in 1981.
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.
Comedy · 1926–2009Soupy Salescomedian, television hostPie-throwing comic whose Lunch with Soupy Sales on Detroit's WXYZ-TV (1953–1960) made him a local legend before he went national.
Theatre & dance · born 1956Ruben Santiago-Hudsonactor, playwright, directorTony-winning actor, playwright of Lackawanna Blues and August Wilson director, who earned his master's degree at Wayne State University, which later gave him an honorary doctorate.
Film & TV · born 1955Newton Thomas Sigelcinematographer, directorDetroit-born cinematographer, a painter turned camera artist, who shot The Usual Suspects, the first X-Men films and Drive.
Film & TV · born 1955Joel Surnowtelevision writer and producerCo-creator of the thriller series 24 and La Femme Nikita, born in Detroit and raised first in Michigan and then in Los Angeles.
Film & TV · born 1981Joe Swanbergindependent filmmakerLeading figure of the mumblecore movement and creator of Netflix's Easy, born in Detroit.
Film & TV · born 1975Michael Schurtelevision writer, producer, director, actorCreator of The Good Place and co-creator of Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, born at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor.
Film & TV · born 1976Dan Scanlonanimation director, writer, storyboard artistPixar director of Monsters University and the Oscar-nominated Onward, who grew up in Clawson and drew Onward from the loss of his father.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 ↗