Film & TV · born 1977
Michael Raymond-JamesactorDetroit-born actor of True Blood, Terriers and Once Upon a Time, a 1996 graduate of Clarkston High School.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)
1568 people · 6/33 page
Clear filtersFilm & TV · born 1977Michael Raymond-JamesactorDetroit-born actor of True Blood, Terriers and Once Upon a Time, a 1996 graduate of Clarkston High School.
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.
Politics · 1907–1995George W. Romneyautomobile executive, governor of MichiganDetroit auto-industry spokesman and American Motors chief who became Michigan's governor (1963–1969) and later U.S. housing secretary.
Film & TV · born 1962Grant ShowactorDetroit-born actor who played brooding mechanic Jake Hanson on Melrose Place and tycoon Blake Carrington in the Dynasty reboot.
Music · 1945–1970Tammi TerrellsingerPhiladelphia-born Motown singer, discovered by Berry Gordy at Detroit's 20 Grand, whose duets with Marvin Gaye include "Ain't No Mountain High Enough".
Film & TV · born 1937Marlo Thomasactress, producer, author, activistThat Girl star and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital champion, born in Detroit while her father Danny Thomas was a struggling local radio and club entertainer.
Film & TV · 1925–1971Martha Vickersactress, modelCarmen Sternwood of The Big Sleep (1946), born Martha MacVicar in Ann Arbor and briefly raised in Detroit.
Film & TV · 1943–2019Max WrightactorALF's harried father Willie Tanner, born in Detroit and raised in Southfield, where he starred in high school musicals; he returned to act at the Jewish Ensemble Theatre in 2007.
Sports · born 1965
Steve Yzermanice hockey center, general managerHall of Fame center who played his entire 22-season career with the Red Wings, captained the team for a record 19 years, and led Detroit to three Stanley Cups.
Sports · born 1980
Henrik Zetterbergice hockey player, forward, team captainRed Wings forward who played his entire sixteen-year NHL career in Detroit, won the 2008 Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy, and captained the team from 2013 until his retirement.
Music · born 1977Royce da 5'9"rapper, songwriterDetroit rapper and Eminem's partner in Bad Meets Evil, whose debut album Rock City was named after his hometown's musical past.
Literature · born 1956Katherine Applegatechildren's and young-adult authorNewbery Medal–winning author of The One and Only Ivan and creator of the Animorphs series, born in Ann Arbor on the western edge of the Detroit metropolitan region.
Music · 1943–1976Florence BallardsingerDetroit-born founding member of the Supremes who named the group, sang on nine No. 1 hits and died in her hometown at 32 as a comeback was beginning.
City history · 1658–1730Antoine de la Mothe CadillacFrench officer, explorer and founder of DetroitFrench officer who founded Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit on July 24, 1701, the settlement that grew into Detroit, and commanded it until 1710.
Film & TV · born 1976Jessica Cauffielactress, singerLegally Blonde's Margot and White Chicks' Tori, a Detroit native who moved to Chelsea as a teen and studied musical theater at the University of Michigan.
Film & TV · born 1956Vondie Curtis-Hallactor, film and television directorDetroit-born actor and director, Dr. Dennis Hancock on Chicago Hope, who wrote and directed the Detroit-set cult film Gridlock'd.
Sports · born 1969
Sergei Fedorovice hockey centerHall of Fame center who defected from the Soviet Union to join the Red Wings in 1990, won three Stanley Cups in Detroit and the 1994 Hart Trophy as league MVP.
Music · 1937–2001Joe Hendersonjazz tenor saxophonist, composerOhio-born tenor saxophone giant of Blue Note and Verve who came of age in Detroit's 1950s jazz scene and studied at Wayne State University.
Sports · born 1964Brett Hullice hockey right winger, executiveOne of the NHL's greatest goal scorers, Hull signed with Detroit in 2001 chasing a second Stanley Cup and won it in 2002, switching his number out of respect for Vladimir Konstantinov.
Music · 1928–2025Sheila Jordanjazz singer, songwriter, educatorDetroit-born bebop singer who as a teenager sang in the city's jazz clubs and caught Charlie Parker's ear before moving to New York in 1951.
Film & TV · born 1951David Patrick Kellyactor, musician, lyricistDetroit-born character actor, forever Luther of The Warriors, who began writing musicals while studying at the University of Detroit.
Sports · born 1970Nicklas Lidströmice hockey defenseman, executiveSwedish Hall of Fame defenseman who played all twenty NHL seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, won four Stanley Cups, and became the first European-born captain to lead a team to the championship.
Religion · born 1930
Adam MaidaCardinal Archbishop of Detroit (1990–2009)Pennsylvania-born cardinal who led the Archdiocese of Detroit from 1990 to 2009, a period of shrinking city parishes and growing suburbs.
Science & invention · born 1964Leland Melvinastronaut, engineer, former football playerNASA astronaut who flew two Space Shuttle missions after an NFL career that ended in the Detroit Lions' 1986 training camp.
Sports · born 1978Corina Morariutennis playerDetroit-born doubles specialist who won Wimbledon in 1999, reached the world No. 1 doubles ranking, and became a prominent voice for leukemia survivors.
Film & TV · born 1978Jaime Ray Newmanactress, producer, singerTelevision actress (Veronica Mars, Eureka, The Punisher) who grew up in Farmington Hills, acted in Detroit-area regional theaters and graduated from Cranbrook in 1996.
Politics · born 1958Gary Peterspolitician, former naval officerPontiac-born Democrat who represented eastern Detroit in the U.S. House and has been Michigan's U.S. senator since 2015.
Sports · born 1972
Željko Rebračabasketball playerSerbian center who spent three seasons as a Pistons reserve big man before being traded away weeks before Detroit's 2004 championship run.
Sports · born 1975Rhynoprofessional wrestlerDetroit-born professional wrestler known as Rhyno, a former ECW, WWE and TNA champion who was raised in Dearborn Heights.
Sports · born 1948Sgt. Slaughterprofessional wrestler, actorWWE Hall of Famer born in Detroit in 1948, famous for his drill-instructor gimmick and his 1991 WWF Championship reign.
Sports · born 1974Jerry Stackhousebasketball player and coach, broadcasterTwo-time All-Star who set the Pistons' single-game scoring record with 57 points and later returned to Detroit as a television analyst.
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.
Music · born 1981Jimmie Wilsonsinger, musical theatre actorDetroit-born singer and stage actor who represented San Marino at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in a duet with Valentina Monetta.
Film & TV · born 1953Curtis Armstrongactor, voice actorDetroit-born actor famous as Booger in Revenge of the Nerds, who grew up in Berkley and trained at Oakland University's Academy of Dramatic Art.
Music · 1948–2009Ron Ashetonguitarist, bassist, songwriterGuitarist and co-founder of the Stooges, the Ann Arbor proto-punk band that served as a house band at Detroit's Grande Ballroom.
Music · born 1931Kenny Burrelljazz guitarist, composer, educatorDetroit-born jazz guitarist who came up in the city's 1950s bebop clubs and Wayne State, then became a Blue Note mainstay and a leading jazz educator.
Science & invention · 1919–1974Clyde CowanphysicistCo-discoverer of the neutrino in the 1956 Cowan–Reines experiment, born in Detroit.
Sports · 1940–2003Dave DeBusscherebasketball player and coach, baseball playerDetroit-born Hall of Famer who starred for the Pistons, became the youngest head coach in NBA history at 24, and later won two championships with the New York Knicks.J Dillarecord producer, rapper, composerConant Gardens-raised producer of Slum Village and the Soulquarians, whose off-grid, “drunk” drum programming reshaped hip-hop from a Detroit basement.
Politics · 1926–2019John Dingellpolitician, lawyerDearborn Democrat who represented Detroit and its western and Downriver suburbs for 59 years, the longest tenure in the history of Congress.
Comedy · born 1956David Alan Grieractor, comedianIn Living Color star and Tony-winning stage actor from Detroit, a Cass Tech graduate whose family marched with Martin Luther King Jr. in the city in 1963.
Sports · born 1961Lynn Hillrock climberDetroit-born rock climber, raised in California, widely regarded as one of the greatest climbers in the sport's history for her 1993 first free ascent of The Nose on El Capitan.
Film & TV · born 1974Jake Kasdanfilm and television director, producerDirector of the Jumanji films and Walk Hard, born in Detroit while his father, future screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, was writing ads for a local agency.Michael Moriartyactor, jazz pianist, composerDetroit-born, Emmy- and Tony-winning actor, the original prosecutor Ben Stone of Law & Order, who is also a jazz pianist and composer.
Film & TV · 1902–1992George Murphyactor, dancer, U.S. senatorSong-and-dance star of 1930s–40s Hollywood musicals and U.S. senator from California, who spent part of his boyhood in Detroit.
Film & TV · born 1963Gail O'Gradyactress, producerThree-time Emmy nominee for NYPD Blue, where she played receptionist Donna Abandando, born in Detroit.
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.Jeralean TalleysupercentenarianGeorgia-born Inkster resident who at 116 was the world's oldest verified living person in 2015, after 80 years in the Detroit suburb.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 ↗
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