Music · born 1944
Gladys Knightsinger, actressThe “Empress of Soul,” whose family group Gladys Knight & the Pips moved to Detroit in the 1960s and cut the first hit version of “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” for Motown.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
- 19 fields
Hungarian ties 31 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Origin and citizenship
Field
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30 people
Clear filtersMusic · born 1944Gladys Knightsinger, actressThe “Empress of Soul,” whose family group Gladys Knight & the Pips moved to Detroit in the 1960s and cut the first hit version of “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” for Motown.
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.
Film & 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 · 1948–2020
Ivan Králguitarist, bassist, songwriter, producer, filmmakerPrague-born guitarist of the Patti Smith Group and Iggy Pop, co-writer of “Dancing Barefoot,” who spent his final years recording in Ann Arbor and Detroit.
Music · born 1952Kim Kashkashianviolist, teacherDetroit-born Armenian-American violist, one of the world's leading players of her instrument and a Grammy winner for music by Hungarian composers.
Music · 1939–1992Eddie Kendrickssinger, songwriterFalsetto lead of the Temptations who came to Detroit with the Primes, sang "Just My Imagination" and later topped the charts solo with "Keep On Truckin'."Mike Kelleyartist, musicianInfluential installation artist from suburban Detroit whose Mobile Homestead, a replica of his childhood home, stands permanently at MOCAD.
Film & TV · born 1976Page Kennedyactor, rapperDetroit-raised actor and rapper, U-Turn on Weeds and Radon Randell on Blue Mountain State, whose debut album features Detroit rappers.
Music · 1948–2024Wayne Kramerguitarist, songwriter, producerMC5 guitarist from the Downriver suburb of Lincoln Park whose band, the house band of the Grande Ballroom, recorded Kick Out the Jams live there in 1968.
Music · born 1953Earl Klughacoustic guitarist, composerDetroit-born acoustic guitarist, discovered as a teenager by Yusef Lateef, who learned at Baker's Keyboard Lounge and won a Grammy with Bob James.Anybody KillarapperEast-side Detroit rapper of Lumbee heritage who performs as a Native American warrior and became a Psychopathic Records mainstay.
Music · born 1974Uncle Krackersinger, songwriter, DJMount Clemens-born singer who started as Kid Rock's DJ in Twisted Brown Trucker and scored solo hits with “Follow Me” and “Drift Away”.KunivarapperDetroit rapper and founding member of D12, one of the few members who stayed with the group from its 1996 start to its 2026 comeback album.Ani Kavafianviolinist, professorIstanbul-born Armenian American violinist raised in Detroit, a pupil of Mischa Mischakoff, who became the longest-serving artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and a Yale professor.Ida Kavafianviolinist, violistIstanbul-born Armenian American violinist who grew up in Detroit, studied there with Mischa Mischakoff and became a leading chamber musician with Tashi, the Beaux Arts Trio and Opus One.
Music · 1923–2011Eddie Kirklandblues guitarist, harmonica player, singerJamaica-born, Alabama-raised bluesman who met John Lee Hooker at Detroit house parties while working at Ford's Rouge plant and toured with him from 1949 to 1962.
Music · born 1967Kemsinger, songwriter, producerMetro Detroit R&B singer, raised in Pontiac and Southfield, who self-financed his debut Kemistry and was signed by Motown in 2001.
Music · 1922–2026Phyllis Kinneysoprano, folk song collector, music historianPontiac-born soprano who sang with the Carl Rosa Opera, married into Welsh culture and became a leading authority on Welsh folk music.
Music · born 1938Bernie Krausemusician, synthesizer pioneer, soundscape ecologistDetroit-born musician who joined the folk group the Weavers, helped introduce the Moog synthesizer to pop music and later founded the science of soundscape ecology.Cub Kodasinger, guitarist, songwriter, DJ, music writerDetroit-born rocker who wrote and sang Brownsville Station's 1973 hit "Smokin' in the Boys Room" and later became a respected blues writer and record compiler.
Hryhory Kytastycomposer, conductor, banduristUkrainian émigré composer and conductor who brought the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus to Detroit in 1949, making the city the world center of the bandura tradition in exile.
Music · 1888–1957
Victor Kolarconductor, composer, violinistBudapest-born conductor who spent two decades on the podium of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, rising from assistant to principal conductor, and died in Detroit.
Music · born 1944Betty KellysingerFormer Velvelette who replaced Annette Beard in Martha and the Vandellas in 1964 and sang in the lineup behind "Nowhere to Run" and "I'm Ready for Love".
Music · born 1948Bill Kirchenguitarist, singer, songwriterAnn Arbor–raised guitarist of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, whose twangy solo on “Hot Rod Lincoln” earned him the title “Titan of the Telecaster.”Phat KatrapperDetroit rapper best known as J Dilla's closest early collaborator, partner in the duo 1st Down and voice of the classic Carte Blanche.
Music · 1894–1979Karl KruegerconductorKansas-born conductor who revived the Detroit Symphony during the Second World War and led it from 1943 to 1949, when his departure caused it to disband again.
Music · born 1958Julian Kytastybandurist, kobzar, composer, singerDetroit-born bandurist from a family of Ukrainian refugee musicians, trained in the city's Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus, and a leading kobzar in the Western Hemisphere.Daniel Kahnsinger-songwriter, actor, klezmer musicianDetroit-born singer-songwriter and actor who founded the Berlin band Daniel Kahn & the Painted Bird, blending klezmer, radical Yiddish song and political cabaret.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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