Film & TV · born 1983
Jana Krameractress, country singerActress and country singer from Rochester Hills in metro Detroit, known for One Tree Hill and the top-ten country hits "Why Ya Wanna" and "I Got the Boy."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)
957 people · 5/20 page
Clear filtersFilm & TV · born 1983Jana Krameractress, country singerActress and country singer from Rochester Hills in metro Detroit, known for One Tree Hill and the top-ten country hits "Why Ya Wanna" and "I Got the Boy."
Music · 1927–1999Guy Mitchellpop singer, actorDetroit-born son of Croatian immigrants who became one of the top-selling pop singers of the 1950s with “Singing the Blues”.
Notorious figures · born 1963Larry Nassarformer sports physician, convicted sex offenderFormer USA Gymnastics and Michigan State team physician from Farmington Hills, convicted of sexually abusing hundreds of young athletes and imprisoned for life in effect.
Sports · born 1978Michael Russelltennis player, coachDetroit-born professional tennis player who reached a career-high world No. 60 and set the all-time record for USTA Pro Circuit singles titles.
Sports · 1930–2010Clarke Scholescompetitive swimmer, Olympic championDetroit-born and Redford High School-raised swimmer who won the gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.
Music · born 1970John 5guitarist, songwriterGrosse Pointe-raised guitarist of Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie and Mötley Crüe, who learned blues and rock 'n' roll from a Detroit guitar teacher.
Literature · born 1971Megan Abbottcrime novelist, screenwriterEdgar Award–winning crime novelist born in Detroit and raised in Grosse Pointe, whose suburban noirs about girls and women draw on her Michigan youth.
Music · born 1981Danny Brownrapper, songwriter, podcasterDetroit-born rapper whose off-kilter voice and blunt stories of the city made him one of hip-hop's most acclaimed left-field artists.Rex Cawleytrack and field athlete, 400-meter hurdlerHighland Park-born hurdler who set a world record and won Olympic gold in the 400-meter hurdles at the 1964 Tokyo Games.
Film & TV · born 1966Anne Fletcherfilm director, choreographer, dancerDirector of Step Up, The Proposal and Hocus Pocus 2, born in Detroit and raised in St. Clair Shores, where she learned to dance and first performed.
Press & broadcasting · born 1969Sanjay Guptaneurosurgeon, CNN chief medical correspondent, authorCNN's chief medical correspondent and a practicing neurosurgeon, born and raised in the Detroit suburb of Novi to parents who were Ford engineers.
Film & TV · 1914–1955John HodiakactorHollywood leading man of the 1940s, of Ukrainian and Polish descent, who grew up in Hamtramck and started out in radio before starring in Hitchcock's Lifeboat.Thad Jonesjazz trumpeter, cornetist, composer, bandleaderPontiac-born trumpeter and composer who played in the house band of Detroit's Blue Bird Inn before joining Count Basie and co-founding the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra.
Film & TV · born 1941Robert McKeescreenwriting teacher, author, story consultantDetroit-born story guru whose Story Seminar and book Story have trained generations of screenwriters; he started as a young actor on Detroit stages.
Press & broadcasting · born 1971Kenya Moorebeauty queen, actress, television personality, entrepreneurMiss USA 1993 and Real Housewives of Atlanta star, raised in Detroit by her grandmother, a Cass Tech graduate who studied at Wayne State.
Music · born 1942Freda Paynesinger, actressDetroit-born singer of the 1970 smash “Band of Gold”, recorded for Invictus, the label her hometown friends Holland–Dozier–Holland founded after leaving Motown.
Sports · born 1973Jalen Rosebasketball player, sports analyst, authorDetroit-born guard who starred at Southwestern High School and with Michigan's 'Fab Five' before a long NBA career and a second career as a national broadcaster and Detroit philanthropist.
Literature · born 1967Ruta Sepetyshistorical novelistCarnegie Medal–winning author of Between Shades of Gray, born in Detroit to a Lithuanian refugee family and raised in the city's northwestern suburbs.
Eddie SlovikU.S. Army privateDetroit-born private who became the only American soldier executed for desertion since the Civil War; his remains were brought home to Woodmere Cemetery in 1987.
Music · born 1952Don Wasbassist, record producer, label executiveDetroit-born producer of Bonnie Raitt and the Rolling Stones, co-founder of Was (Not Was) and president of Blue Note Records, who still champions the Detroit music scene.
Music · 1930–1986Pepper Adamsjazz baritone saxophonist, composerHighland Park-born baritone saxophonist who came of age in Detroit's 1950s bebop clubs, running the bandstand at the Blue Bird Inn before a career in New York.
Music · 1927–2003Hank Ballardsinger, songwriterDetroit-born leader of the Midnighters, a Ford assembly-line worker turned rock and roll pioneer who wrote and first recorded “The Twist.”
Music · born 1976BizarrerapperDetroit rapper and founding member of D12, recruited by Proof in 1995, who still lives and makes music in his hometown.Derrick Colemanbasketball player, entrepreneurSyracuse star raised in Detroit who returned late in his career to play for the Pistons, then came home for good as a local developer and Flint water crisis volunteer.
Visual art · 1821–1872Robert S. Duncansonlandscape and portrait painterThe first internationally known African American painter; he grew up in Monroe, Michigan, painted portraits in Detroit in the 1840s and died here in 1872.
Film & TV · 1931–1983Christopher Georgetelevision and film actorRoyal Oak-born son of Greek immigrants who starred as Sergeant Sam Troy in the 1960s war series The Rat Patrol.
Music · born 1991Angel Hazerapper, singerDetroit-born rapper and singer (now performing as ROES) known for the album Dirty Gold and raw, confessional verses; they grew up in the city before moving to New York at 15.
Music · 1937–1968Little Willie Johnsinger, songwriterDetroit-raised R&B singer who first recorded “Fever” and “Need Your Love So Bad,” and is buried at Detroit Memorial Park East in Warren.
Sports · born 1938Hayes Joneshurdler, public officialPontiac-raised hurdler who won Olympic gold in the 110 meters hurdles in Tokyo in 1964 and later led metro Detroit's suburban bus system.Tim LaHayeevangelical minister, novelist, activistDetroit-born co-author of the best-selling Left Behind novels and a key organizer of the Christian right, the son of a Ford autoworker.
Film & TV · 1923–2010Adele Maraactress, dancer, singerHighland Park-born dancer and actress of 1940s westerns and Sands of Iwo Jima, the daughter of Spanish immigrants, who started out in Xavier Cugat's show.
Music · born 1963Jeff MillsDJ, record producer, composerDetroit-born techno DJ and producer, "The Wizard" of WJLB radio, who co-founded Underground Resistance before taking Detroit techno to Berlin and the world.
Film & TV · born 1982Simone MissickactressMarvel's Misty Knight and All Rise's Judge Lola Carmichael, a Detroit native and graduate of Renaissance High School.
Science & invention · 1907–1988Seth NeddermeyerphysicistCo-discoverer of the muon and champion of the implosion design for the atomic bomb, born in Richmond, Michigan, in northern Macomb County.Johnny Pacaractor, musicianDearborn-born actor of Flight 29 Down and Make It or Break It, a Wayne Memorial High School graduate of Romanian descent.
Film & TV · born 1960Bill Pradytelevision writer and producerDetroit-born co-creator of The Big Bang Theory, a Cranbrook graduate who studied at Wayne State, which later gave him an honorary doctorate.
Sports · 1924–2016Norbert SchemanskyweightlifterDetroit-born weightlifter, the first to win four Olympic medals in the sport, who lived most of his life in nearby Dearborn, where a park is named for him.
Literature · born 1949Jim Starlincomics writer and artistDetroit-born comics artist and writer who created Thanos, Gamora and Drax and wrote The Infinity Gauntlet, the source of Marvel's biggest film saga.
Music · born 1974Mark Tremontiguitarist, singer, songwriterDetroit-born guitarist of Creed and Alter Bridge who spent most of his childhood in suburban Grosse Pointe.
Sports · born 1971Doug Weightice hockey player, coach and executiveMetro Detroit-born center who played 19 NHL seasons and won the 2006 Stanley Cup with Carolina, after growing up playing youth hockey in the Detroit area and graduating a local high school.
Music · 1943–1992Mary Wellssinger, songwriterDetroit-born "Queen of Motown" who pitched her first song to Berry Gordy in a nightclub at 17 and topped the Hot 100 with "My Guy" in 1964.
Sports · born 1962Kevin Willisbasketball forward and centerLong-serving NBA big man who came up through Detroit's Pershing High School before a 21-season career that made him one of the oldest players ever to play in the league.Rose Abdooactress, comedianDetroit-born comic actress, Gypsy the mechanic on Gilmore Girls and Josefina on Hacks, who grew up in Southfield.
Music · born 1997Bazzisinger-songwriter, record producerCanton-born, Dearborn-raised Lebanese-American pop singer whose 2017 song “Mine” went viral and reached the Billboard top 20.
Auto industry · 1854–1929
David Dunbar Buickinventor, founder of BuickScottish-born Detroit plumber and inventor who founded the Buick Motor Company, lost it within a few years, and died nearly broke in Detroit in 1929.
Comedy · born 1959Dave Couliercomedian, actor, voice actorFull House's Joey Gladstone, born in Detroit and raised in St. Clair Shores, who started in stand-up at Royal Oak's Comedy Castle, where he met Bob Saget.
Science & invention · born 1969Tony Fadellengineer, designer, entrepreneurEngineer known as the 'father of the iPod', co-creator of the iPhone and founder of Nest Labs; he grew up in the Detroit area and graduated from Grosse Pointe South High School.
Music · 1932–2021Curtis Fullerjazz trombonist, composerDetroit-born hard-bop trombonist who played on John Coltrane's Blue Train and in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, and who died in his hometown in 2021.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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