Sports · born 1985
Megan Moulton-Levytennis playerGrosse Pointe-born tennis player, of Jamaican-American background, who built a career mainly in doubles, reaching a career-high WTA doubles ranking of 50.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 · 17/41 page
Sports · born 1985Megan Moulton-Levytennis playerGrosse Pointe-born tennis player, of Jamaican-American background, who built a career mainly in doubles, reaching a career-high WTA doubles ranking of 50.
Sports · born 1992
Petr Mrázekice hockey goaltenderCzech goaltender developed through Detroit's farm system who became the Red Wings' rookie of the year and later returned to the club briefly during a well-traveled NHL career.
Sports · born 1992
Vladislav Namestnikovice hockey forwardRussian-born centre who moved to Michigan as an infant and grew up in the state before eventually returning to play two NHL seasons for his boyhood-area team, the Red Wings.
Sports · born 1944
Václav Nedomanskýice hockey forwardThe first Czechoslovak hockey star to defect and play professionally in North America, who spent five NHL seasons with the Red Wings in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Sports · 1989–2020
Chris Reedice dancerAmerican-born ice dancer who skated for Japan at three Olympics, trained in Canton in metro Detroit from 2015 and died in Detroit in 2020, aged 30.
Politics · born 1949Ann Romneyauthor, philanthropist, former First Lady of MassachusettsDetroit-born, Bloomfield Hills-raised Kingswood graduate who married Mitt Romney and became First Lady of Massachusetts and an advocate for multiple sclerosis research.
Sports · born 1992Bryan Rustice hockey right wingerPontiac-born winger who grew up idolizing the Red Wings and went on to win back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Music · born 1964Kevin SaundersonDJ, record producer, label ownerOne of the Belleville Three who invented Detroit techno; his Inner City hits carried the city's sound onto pop charts worldwide.Leonard Jimmie Savagemathematician, statisticianDetroit-born statistician whose Foundations of Statistics (1954) laid the groundwork for modern Bayesian statistics and decision theory.
Sports · born 1984Max Scherzerbaseball pitcherRight-hander who developed into a genuine ace during five seasons with the Tigers, winning the 2013 AL Cy Young Award and pitching Detroit to the 2012 World Series.
Sports · born 1969Mathieu Schneiderice hockey player, defensemanOffensive defenseman and 1993 Stanley Cup champion with Montreal who spent parts of four seasons with the Red Wings, including a career-best 2005–06 campaign.
Film & TV · born 1975Michael Schurtelevision writer, producer, director, actorCreator of The Good Place and co-creator of Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, born at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor.
Literature · 1941–2024John Sinclairpoet, activist, music manager, radio hostJazz poet, MC5 manager and White Panther co-founder who helped build Detroit's 1960s Cass Corridor counterculture and died in the city in 2024.Alexander H. SmithmycologistLeading American mushroom expert who spent his entire career at the University of Michigan Herbarium and wrote popular guides to Michigan's mushrooms.
Sports · born 1987Marc Staalice hockey defenseman and coachVeteran Rangers defenseman who finished a long New York tenure with two seasons in Detroit before moving on to Florida.
Science & invention · born 1963
Ulana Suprunphysician, activist, health minister of UkraineDetroit-born radiologist from the city's Ukrainian community who trained at Wayne State and Henry Ford Hospital and later served as Ukraine's acting health minister (2016–2019).Sheila Taorminaswimmer, triathlete, modern pentathleteLivonia-born athlete who is the only woman ever to qualify for the Olympics in three different sports, beginning with an Olympic swimming gold medal in 1996.
Sports · born 1962Otis Thorpebasketball playerNBA champion power forward who spent two seasons anchoring the Pistons' front court after coming to Detroit in a trade from Portland.
Sports · born 1985Anthony Tolliverbasketball forwardWell-traveled 13-season NBA forward who played two separate stints with the Pistons as a reliable stretch-four off the bench.
Music · 1942–2014Dick Wagnerguitarist, songwriterMichigan-raised guitarist who led the Bossmen and the Frost in the Detroit rock scene, then co-wrote Alice Cooper's “Only Women Bleed” and played on Lou Reed's Rock 'n' Roll Animal.
Sports · born 1987Justin Abdelkaderice hockey wingerMichigan State Frozen Four hero whom the Red Wings drafted and who spent his entire twelve-season NHL career in Detroit, including the 2008 Stanley Cup.
Sports · 1894–1968Jack Adamsice hockey coach and general managerHall of Fame builder who spent 36 years running the Red Wings as coach and general manager, winning seven Stanley Cups and turning Detroit into an NHL powerhouse; the NHL's annual coach-of-the-year award bears his name.
Sports · born 1943Tom Van Arsdalebasketball playerIdentical twin of Dick Van Arsdale who began his 12-season NBA career with three years as a Pistons shooting guard.Marvin Barnesbasketball playerFlashy, immensely talented forward, nicknamed 'Bad News', whose chaotic two seasons with the Pistons in the late 1970s became one of the most colorful chapters in franchise history.
Sports · born 1988Jonathan Bernierice hockey goaltenderStanley Cup-winning goaltender who signed with Detroit in 2018 and spent three seasons backing up, then sharing duties with, Jimmy Howard.
Music · born 1939Cindy BirdsongsingerFormer Bluebelle who was flown to Detroit in 1967 to replace Florence Ballard in the Supremes and sang with the group through 1976.
Sports · 1931–2021Leo Boivinice hockey player, defensemanHard-hitting defenseman who joined the Red Wings in a 1966 trade and helped Detroit reach that year's Stanley Cup Final.Cindy Brownbasketball playerOlympic gold medalist forward who was part of the Detroit Shock's inaugural WNBA roster in 1998.
Religion · 1958–2025Michael J. ByrnesCatholic Archbishop of Agaña (Guam)Detroit-born priest who served as an auxiliary bishop of Detroit before leading the Catholic Church in Guam; he died in Detroit in 2025.
Film & TV · 1864–1943Frank CampeauactorDetroit-born stage actor turned silent-film character player, a frequent screen partner of Douglas Fairbanks in more than 90 films.
Music · born 1934
Aldo CeccatoconductorMilan-born conductor who was music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 1973 to 1977 and added more than 45 works to its repertoire.
Sports · born 1978Daniel Clearyice hockey forward, front-office executiveNewfoundland-born forward who made the Red Wings out of a tryout in 2005, won the 2008 Stanley Cup as the first Newfoundlander ever to do so, and now directs the team's player development.
Sports · 1922–1990Nathaniel Cliftonbasketball and baseball playerOne of the first African American players in the NBA, who closed his basketball career with the Pistons after their move to Detroit, then joined the Negro-league Detroit Stars.
Music · born 1979Tommy ClufetosdrummerDetroit-born hard-rock drummer who started with Mitch Ryder and Ted Nugent and went on to play for Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath's farewell tours.
Sports · born 1976Ty Conklinice hockey goaltenderJourneyman backup goaltender who twice signed with the Red Wings, backstopping Detroit to the 2009 Stanley Cup Final and recording a memorable shutout at the Winter Classic.
Sports · born 1994Andrew Coppice hockey forwardAnn Arbor-born forward who played youth hockey with Detroit Compuware, starred at the University of Michigan and signed a five-year contract with the Red Wings in 2022.
Kornél Dávidbasketball forwardThe only Hungarian ever to play in the NBA, briefly with the Pistons in February 2001 after a trade from Toronto.
Sports · born 1987Chris Douglas-Robertsbasketball playerDetroit-raised guard who starred at Cass Technical High School before leading the University of Memphis to the 2008 national championship game.
Sports · born 2000
Sekou Doumbouyabasketball playerGuinean-French forward whom the Pistons drafted 15th overall in 2019, making him, at the time, the youngest active player in the NBA.
Film & TV · 1923–2004Doris DowlingactressDetroit-born actress of 1940s film noir and Italian neorealism, remembered for The Lost Weekend, The Blue Dahlia and Bitter Rice.
Sports · born 1997Henry Ellensonbasketball forwardFirst-round pick of the Pistons in 2016 who spent his entire rookie contract with Detroit, splitting time between the NBA roster and the Grand Rapids Drive.Richard Ellmannliterary biographer, critic, professorHighland Park-born biographer of James Joyce and Oscar Wilde, whose Joyce is often called the greatest literary biography of the 20th century.
Sports · born 1981Cheryl Fordbasketball playerDetroit Shock forward, daughter of NBA great Karl Malone, who was named WNBA Rookie of the Year and champion in the same 2003 season and went on to win three titles with the team.Steve FraserGreco-Roman wrestler, coachHazel Park-born wrestler who won the first Olympic gold medal the United States ever earned in Greco-Roman wrestling, at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
Music · 1878–1936Ossip Gabrilowitschpianist, conductor, composerRussian-born pianist who became the first music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and made the city build Orchestra Hall for it in 1919.
Music · 1911–1991Slim Gaillardjazz singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalistJive singer of “Flat Foot Floogie” and inventor of the “Vout” language, often listed as Detroit-born, who spent his teenage years scraping a living in Detroit.
Sports · born 1963Gerard Gallantice hockey player and coachPhysical left winger who spent nine of his eleven NHL seasons with the Red Wings, skating on Detroit's top line alongside Steve Yzerman before a long career as an NHL coach.
Sports · born 1991Josh Gattsoccer player, wingerMetro Detroit-born winger known for his speed, who built most of his career in Europe before briefly turning out for his hometown club, Detroit City FC.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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