Religion · born 1948
Allen VigneronCatholic Archbishop of Detroit (2009–2025)Mount Clemens native who studied and later served as rector at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, then led the Archdiocese of Detroit as archbishop from 2009 to 2025.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)
1949 people · 16/41 page
Religion · born 1948Allen VigneronCatholic Archbishop of Detroit (2009–2025)Mount Clemens native who studied and later served as rector at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, then led the Archdiocese of Detroit as archbishop from 2009 to 2025.
Sports · born 1990Lawrence Warbasseroad racing cyclistDearborn-born professional road cyclist and University of Michigan graduate who won the 2017 U.S. national road race title.
Music · 1940–2017Leon Waresongwriter, producer, singerDetroit-born Motown songwriter and producer behind Marvin Gaye's I Want You, Michael Jackson's “I Wanna Be Where You Are” and Minnie Riperton's “Inside My Love.”
Sports · born 1997Zach Werenskiice hockey defensemanGrosse Pointe-born defenseman who trained with Detroit's Belle Tire youth club and the University of Michigan before becoming one of the NHL's top blueliners with the Columbus Blue Jackets.Sharon Wichmancompetition swimmerDetroit-born breaststroke swimmer who left the city as a young child but went on to win Olympic gold in 1968.
Sports · born 1982Chris Wilcoxbasketball player, power forwardAthletic power forward who played two seasons for the Pistons in the middle of an 11-year NBA career spent with five different teams.
Music · born 1949James Williamsonguitarist, songwriter, engineerThe Stooges' Raw Power guitarist, who came of age in the Detroit area in the 1960s and formed his first band there with future SRC singer Scott Richardson.
Sports · 1918–2000
Sid Abelice hockey player, coach and general managerHall of Fame center who captained the Red Wings' famed "Production Line" with Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay to three Stanley Cups, then coached and managed the team for another decade.
Music · 1949–2014Scott AshetondrummerThe Stooges' drummer, raised in Ann Arbor from age 14, whose primal beat drove the band from its Grande Ballroom debut to its 21st-century reunion.Mike Binderfilmmaker, stand-up comedian, actorBirmingham-raised comedian and filmmaker whose directing debut, Crossing the Bridge, turns his teenage years in suburban Detroit into drama.Stephen Braysongwriter, drummer, record producerDetroit-born songwriter and producer, Madonna's early bandmate and co-writer of "Into the Groove" and "Express Yourself," who later won a Grammy for The Color Purple.
Business & brands · 1933–2021Eli Broadhomebuilder, financier, philanthropistRaised in Detroit, he built his first houses in the city's suburbs, founded what became KB Home, and later became a major art and education philanthropist.
Film & TV · born 1970Larry Joe Campbellactor, comedianAccording to Jim's Andy, a northern Michigan native who earned a theater master's at Wayne State, performed at The Second City Detroit and co-founded the Detroit Creativity Project.
Music · born 1969James Carterjazz saxophonist, multi-reedistDetroit-born saxophone virtuoso, trained in Donald Washington's youth ensemble, whose 1988 sit-in with Lester Bowie at the Detroit Institute of Arts launched his career.
Music · born 1966Regina Carterjazz violinistDetroit-born jazz violinist, trained at Cass Tech and Oakland University, who rose with the all-female group Straight Ahead and later won a MacArthur “genius” grant.
Film & TV · born 1971Sharon Caseactress, former modelDetroit-born soap star who has played Sharon Newman on The Young and the Restless since 1994, winning a Daytime Emmy in 1999.
Sports · born 1946Don Chaneybasketball coach, former playerTwo-time NBA champion as a player elsewhere who worked as a Pistons assistant coach and later served two seasons as Detroit's head coach in the mid-1990s.
Sports · born 1960Dino Ciccarelliice hockey player, right wingerHall of Fame goal-scorer who reached his 500th career goal with the Red Wings and later opened Detroit-area sports bars named for his jersey number.
Comedy · born 1978Eugene Corderoactor, comedian, writerFilipino American comic actor of The Good Place, Loki and Star Trek: Lower Decks, raised in Detroit's northern suburbs and a 1996 graduate of Brother Rice High School.
Music · born 1969Carl Craigelectronic music producer, DJ, label founderDetroit techno's leading second-wave producer, founder of Planet E Communications and co-creator of the Detroit Electronic Music Festival in Hart Plaza.
Auto industry · 1864–1920John Dodgemachinist, automobile manufacturer, co-founder of Dodge BrothersThe business mind of the Dodge Brothers, who turned a Detroit machine shop into one of America's biggest automakers.
Architecture & design · 1912–1988Ray Eamesartist, designerAmerican artist and designer who studied at Cranbrook in 1940–41, where she met Charles Eames and began one of design history's great partnerships.
Sports · born 1955James Edwardsbasketball playerReliable low-post scorer nicknamed "Buddha" who came off the bench and started for the Pistons' back-to-back championship teams of 1989 and 1990.
Sports · born 1984Prince Fielderbaseball player, first baseman, designated hitterPower-hitting first baseman who signed what was then the richest contract in Tigers history in 2012 and helped Detroit reach the World Series that year.
Sports · born 1979
Johan Franzénice hockey wingerSwedish power forward, nicknamed 'The Mule' by Steve Yzerman, who played his entire eleven-season NHL career with the Red Wings and set the franchise's single-series playoff goal-scoring record.
Sports · born 1989Sam Gagnerice hockey forwardVeteran forward acquired in a 2020 trade-deadline deal who spent three seasons as a depth scorer and locker-room presence for the Red Wings.
Film & TV · born 1943Max GailactorBarney Miller's Detective Wojo, born in Detroit and raised on Grosse Ile in the Detroit River, who later earned an MBA at the University of Michigan.
Business & brands · born 1962Dan Gilbertbusinessman, founder of Rocket Mortgage and BedrockDetroit-born mortgage billionaire who moved Quicken Loans downtown in 2010 and bought and rebuilt dozens of city landmarks through Bedrock.
Sports · born 1984Jonas Gustavssonice hockey goaltenderSwedish backup goaltender nicknamed "the Monster" who spent three seasons with the Red Wings and briefly caught fire during the 2012–13 season, and settled with his family in the Detroit area.
Civil rights & activism · 1939–2016Tom Haydenactivist, author, politicianRoyal Oak-raised author of the Port Huron Statement and New Left leader who grew up in Father Coughlin's parish and later served in the California legislature.
Alice Herzpeace activist, teacherGerman-born pacifist and Wayne State German instructor who in March 1965, aged 82, became the first American known to set herself on fire in protest against the Vietnam War.
Film & TV · 1951–2020Dan HicksactorPontiac-born actor of Evil Dead II, Darkman and Intruder, a longtime member of Sam Raimi's Michigan circle.
Film & TV · born 1983Ellen HollmanactressDetroit-born actress known for the warrior Saxa in Starz's Spartacus and roles in The Matrix Resurrections.
Sports · born 1955Mark Howeice hockey defenseman and executiveDetroit-born son of Gordie Howe, a Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman who played his final NHL season for the Red Wings and then spent decades in the club's front office.
Sports · born 1985Calvin Johnsonfootball wide receiverHall of Fame wide receiver nicknamed "Megatron" who spent his entire nine-season career with the Detroit Lions and set the NFL single-season receiving yards record.Vinnie Johnsonbasketball guard, later automotive-parts executive"Bad Boys" era Pistons sixth man, nicknamed "the Microwave" for instant scoring off the bench, who hit the championship-clinching shot in the 1990 NBA Finals.
Film & TV · born 1966Walter Emanuel Jonesactor, martial artist, dancer, singerThe original Black Ranger, Zack Taylor, of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, born and raised in Detroit.Zeke Joneswrestler, coachSoutheastern Michigan-born Olympic silver medalist wrestler who later led USA Wrestling's freestyle program as national head coach.
Film & TV · born 1962John Knollvisual effects supervisor, co-creator of PhotoshopOscar-winning Industrial Light & Magic effects supervisor and co-creator of Adobe Photoshop, born and raised in Ann Arbor, where his brother wrote the first version.
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.
Sports · born 1991Torey Krugice hockey defensemanRoyal Oak-born defenseman who came up through metro Detroit's competitive youth hockey system before an NCAA and NHL career built mostly around the Boston Bruins.Annie Lazorcompetitive swimmerDetroit-born breaststroke swimmer who won Olympic bronze in 2021 after a standout high school career at Groves High School in suburban Beverly Hills, Michigan.
Sports · born 1994Anthony Manthaice hockey player, wingerRed Wings first-round pick who developed into a top scoring winger, including a four-goal home-opener performance in 2019, before an eventual trade to Washington.
Sports · 1928–1989Billy Martinbaseball manager, former second basemanCombative former Yankees star who briefly played for the Tigers in 1958 and, as their fiery manager from 1971 to 1973, led Detroit to an American League East title.
Sports · born 1982Jeremiah Masseybasketball playerDetroit-born power forward who attended Mackenzie High School before a college and professional career that took him through Kansas State and more than a decade of European and international basketball.
Music · born 1963Derrick MayDJ, electronic music producerDetroit-born techno pioneer, one of the Belleville Three, whose 1987 track "Strings of Life" became an anthem and who ran the Transmat label from Detroit's Eastern Market.
Sports · born 1991Ray McCallum Jr.basketball playerDetroit-born guard who won a state title at Detroit Country Day School and played college basketball for his father at the University of Detroit Mercy.
Religion · 1882–1958Edward Mooneyfirst Archbishop of Detroit, cardinalFirst Archbishop of Detroit (1937–1958) and a cardinal from 1946, who reined in radio priest Charles Coughlin and led the church through the city's wartime boom.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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