Comedy · 1951–2014
Robin Williamscomedian, actorOscar-winning comic genius who spent his early teens in Bloomfield Hills, where his father was a Ford executive, and attended Detroit Country Day 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
- 9 fields
Hungarian ties 31 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Origin and citizenship
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
20 people
Clear filtersComedy · 1951–2014Robin Williamscomedian, actorOscar-winning comic genius who spent his early teens in Bloomfield Hills, where his father was a Ford executive, and attended Detroit Country Day School.
Music · born 1950
Stevie Wondersinger, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producerBlind child prodigy raised in Detroit who signed with Motown at 11 and grew into one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century.
Notorious figures · 1956–2002
Aileen Wuornosserial killerSerial killer executed in Florida in 2002, born in Rochester and raised in Troy, two Oakland County suburbs of Detroit.
Film & TV · born 1952Billy Westvoice actor, musicianDetroit-born voice of Futurama's Fry, Farnsworth and Zoidberg, Ren & Stimpy and the red M&M, who grew up in Boston and New Jersey.
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.
Sports · born 1958Mike Woodsonbasketball coach, former playerLongtime NBA assistant who spent one season on Larry Brown's Pistons bench in 2003–04 and won an NBA championship with Detroit before going on to a long head-coaching career elsewhere.
Music · born 1951Kim Wilsonblues singer, harmonica playerDetroit-born blues harmonica player and frontman of the Fabulous Thunderbirds, known for the 1986 hit “Tuff Enuff”.Sharon Wichmancompetition swimmerDetroit-born breaststroke swimmer who left the city as a young child but went on to win Olympic gold in 1968.Mark Wellsice hockey forwardSt. Clair Shores native who won Olympic gold with the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" team; his hometown rink is named after him.
Music · 1951–2010Ali-Ollie Woodsonsinger, songwriter, keyboardistDetroit-born lead singer of the Temptations from 1983 to 1996, heard on "Treat Her Like a Lady".
Sports · 1956–2014Bob Welchbaseball pitcherDetroit-born, Hazel Park-raised pitcher who won the 1990 Cy Young Award with 27 wins and wrote a frank memoir about his recovery from alcoholism.
Sports · born 1957Lou Whitakerbaseball second basemanTigers second baseman for 19 seasons and half of baseball's longest double-play partnership with Alan Trammell; his No. 1 was retired in 2022.
Music · born 1953Vickie Winanssinger, songwriter, producer, comedianDetroit gospel singer called "The Hardest Working Woman in Gospel Music", known for "Shake Yourself Loose" and her Live in Detroit albums.David Wasmusician, songwriter, record producer, journalistDetroit-born co-founder of Was (Not Was) with his childhood friend Don Was, the art-funk band behind "Walk the Dinosaur."
Politics · 1951–2023JoAnn Watsonactivist, radio host, pastor, city councilwomanDetroit-born activist, talk radio host and pastor who served ten years on the Detroit City Council (2003–2013) as an outspoken voice against the state takeover of the city.Thomas Whitfieldgospel singer, songwriter, arranger, producer, choir directorDetroit gospel innovator whose Thomas Whitfield Company choir blended jazz and classical ideas into gospel, and who produced Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Yolanda Adams and Aretha Franklin.Marvin Winanspastor, singer, songwriter, producerDetroit gospel singer of the Winans and founding pastor of Detroit's Perfecting Church, who delivered the eulogy at Whitney Houston's funeral.Ronald Winanssinger, producerEldest member of the Detroit gospel quartet the Winans, leader of the Family & Friends Choir recordings, who died in 2005.Kym Worthyprosecutor, judgeWayne County prosecutor since 2004, the first Black woman county prosecutor in Michigan, who charged Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick in 2008 and led the testing of 11,000 abandoned Detroit rape kits.Carvin Winanssinger, songwriter, producerDetroit-born member of the Winans, Marvin's twin, who wrote and produced for the group and sang backup on Michael Jackson's Bad.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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