Film & TV · born 1980
Kristen Bellactress, singerStar of Veronica Mars, The Good Place and Disney's Frozen, born in Huntington Woods and raised in Detroit's northern suburbs.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.
- 1,940 famous people
- 515 Detroit places
- 15 fields
Hungarian ties 22 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Origin and citizenship
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
109 people · 1/3 page
Clear filtersFilm & TV · born 1980Kristen Bellactress, singerStar of Veronica Mars, The Good Place and Disney's Frozen, born in Huntington Woods and raised in Detroit's northern suburbs.
Sports · born 1988Derrick Rosebasketball playerFormer NBA Most Valuable Player who, after years of injury setbacks, found a late-career revival with the Pistons as a prolific sixth man.
Sports · born 1982
Tara Lipinskifigure skater, sports commentator1998 Olympic champion, the youngest in figure skating history, who trained at the Detroit Skating Club in Bloomfield Hills during her rise.
Sports · born 1989Blake Griffinbasketball player, power forwardSix-time All-Star power forward who anchored the Pistons from 2018 to 2021, headlined by a 50-point game and a franchise scoring-month record.
Music · born 1988Lizzosinger, rapper, flutist, actressGrammy-winning singer and rapper of “Truth Hurts” and “About Damn Time,” born in Detroit in 1988 and raised there until age ten.
Film & TV · born 1983
Steven Yeunactor, producerSeoul-born actor raised in Taylor and Troy, Michigan, a Troy High School graduate who became Glenn in The Walking Dead and an Oscar nominee for Minari.
Sports · born 1980Tayshaun Princebasketball player, small forwardDefensive-minded small forward on the Pistons' 2004 championship team, remembered in Detroit for "The Block," his chase-down rejection of Reggie Miller in the 2004 playoffs.
Film & TV · born 1985Crystal ReedactressDetroit-raised actress, Allison Argent on Teen Wolf, who graduated from Roseville High School and studied acting at Wayne State.
Music · born 1988Big Seanrapper, songwriterRapper raised in Detroit from infancy whose albums Detroit and Detroit 2 honor his hometown; he runs a youth foundation in the city and works with the Pistons.
Music · born 1988Mike Posnersinger, songwriter, record producerDetroit-born singer-songwriter raised in Southfield, known for "Cooler Than Me" and "I Took a Pill in Ibiza" and for co-writing hits for other stars.
Film & TV · born 1989Jack Falaheeactor, singerAnn Arbor-born and -raised actor best known as Connor Walsh on the ABC legal thriller How to Get Away with Murder.
Comedy · born 1984Brandon T. Jacksonactor, stand-up comedian, rapperDetroit-born comedian and actor of Tropic Thunder and the Percy Jackson films, who first performed at youth nights in his father's Detroit church.
Politics · born 1984Abdul El-Sayedepidemiologist, public health official, politicianMetro Detroit-raised epidemiologist and Rhodes Scholar who rebuilt the Detroit Health Department after the city's bankruptcy and became Michigan's 2026 Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate.
Sports · born 1983
Ben Gordonbasketball player, shooting guardSixth Man of the Year winner who signed a big free-agent deal with the Pistons in 2009 and spent three seasons as Detroit's instant-offense scorer off the bench.
Film & TV · born 1980Austin Nicholsactor, directorActor and director born in Ann Arbor, best known as Julian Baker on One Tree Hill; his family moved to Texas before his first birthday.
Sports · born 1982Kwame Brownbasketball playerFirst player ever drafted No. 1 overall straight out of high school, who spent two seasons as a Pistons forward-center late in his career.
Sports · born 1980Caron Butlerbasketball forward, assistant coachTwo-time NBA All-Star and veteran small forward who spent a season with the Pistons late in his 14-year career.
Sports · born 1989Brandon Jenningsbasketball playerFirst American high schooler to skip college for pro basketball in Europe, who played three seasons as the Pistons' starting point guard.
Sports · born 1987
Jonas Jerebkobasketball playerSwedish forward drafted by the Pistons in 2009 who spent six seasons in Detroit, the longest stretch of his ten-year NBA career.
Sports · born 1988Patrick Kaneice hockey right wingerOne of the most decorated American-born players in NHL history, Kane trained as a teenager in the Detroit area before returning in 2023 to sign with the Red Wings.
Sports · born 1987Meryl Davisice dancer, Olympic championRoyal Oak-born ice dancer who, with childhood friend Charlie White, trained in metro Detroit and won America's first Olympic ice-dance gold in 2014.
Sports · born 1987Charlie Whiteice dancer, Olympic champion, coachDearborn-born ice dancer, 2014 Olympic champion with Meryl Davis, who now coaches at the Michigan Ice Dance Academy he co-founded in Canton.
Music · born 1981Jimmie Wilsonsinger, musical theatre actorDetroit-born singer and stage actor who represented San Marino at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in a duet with Valentina Monetta.
Press & broadcasting · born 1985Rima Fakihbeauty queen, TV personalityLebanese-born Dearborn resident who became Miss USA 2010, the first Arab American woman to win the title, representing Michigan.
Sports · born 1989Marcus Morris Sr.basketball playerForward who spent two seasons with the Pistons and helped them reach the playoffs for the first time since 2009.
Sports · born 1986Rodney Stuckeybasketball guardCombo guard who spent seven seasons with the Pistons after being drafted 15th overall in 2007, becoming a reliable scorer as the team transitioned away from its championship core.
Sports · born 1985Arron Afflalobasketball playerUCLA All-American guard whom the Pistons drafted 27th overall in 2007 and who spent his first two NBA seasons in Detroit.Austin Dayebasketball player, small forwardLanky forward drafted 15th overall by Detroit in 2009 who spent parts of four seasons developing with the Pistons before later winning an NBA title with San Antonio.
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."
Sports · born 1984Charlie Villanuevabasketball forwardDominican-American stretch forward who spent five seasons with the Pistons on a five-year, 40-million-dollar contract signed in 2009.
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.
Sports · born 1987Amir Johnsonbasketball forward, coachForward drafted straight out of high school by the Pistons in 2005, who spent four seasons in Detroit learning the game before a long, productive career elsewhere.
Sports · born 1983Justin Verlanderbaseball pitcherAce right-hander who anchored the Tigers' rotation for 13 seasons, threw two no-hitters, and won the 2011 AL MVP and Cy Young awards in a unanimous vote.
Film & TV · born 1982Simone MissickactressMarvel's Misty Knight and All Rise's Judge Lola Carmichael, a Detroit native and graduate of Renaissance High School.Johnny Pacaractor, musicianDearborn-born actor of Flight 29 Down and Make It or Break It, a Wayne Memorial High School graduate of Romanian descent.
Science & invention · born 1981Adam Grantorganizational psychologist, authorWharton organizational psychologist and best-selling author of Give and Take and Think Again, born in West Bloomfield and raised in the Detroit suburbs.
Sports · born 1987Jodie Meeksbasketball player, coachSharpshooting guard who signed a three-year deal with the Pistons in 2014 and nearly broke a Joe Dumars franchise record for three-pointers in a game before injuries cut his Detroit tenure short.
Sports · born 1983Brandi Rhodesprofessional wrestler, ring announcer, executiveDetroit-suburb-born wrestling personality who rose through WWE and became a founding executive and performer at All Elite Wrestling.
Sports · born 1988Kyle Singlerbasketball forwardDuke's 2010 NCAA champion and Final Four Most Outstanding Player who spent three seasons as a regular starter for the Pistons.
Film & TV · born 1985James WolkactorFarmington Hills native known as Bob Benson on Mad Men, who grew up in Oakland County and trained at the University of Michigan.
Film & TV · born 1985Dan AmboyeractorDetroit-born actor from the Roeper School, known for Younger, Uncoupled and as Prince William in a royal-romance TV movie.
Sports · born 1989Evan Batesice dancerOlympic champion ice dancer born and raised in Ann Arbor, who trained for years in suburban Canton and won national silver in Detroit in 2019 with Madison Chock.
Sports · born 1985Reggie Bushfootball running backHeisman Trophy winner and Super Bowl champion who spent two seasons with the Lions late in his career, helping Detroit reach the 2014 playoffs.
Sports · born 1983Will Bynumbasketball player and coachUndrafted guard who became a Pistons fan favorite for seven seasons, setting a franchise record with 26 points in a single quarter.
Sports · born 1983Tim Gleasonice hockey defensemanOakland County-born NHL defenseman who played his youth hockey for the Detroit Little Caesars club before a long career elsewhere.
Sports · born 1981Willie Greenbasketball player and coachDetroit-born guard who starred at Cooley High School and the University of Detroit Mercy before a 12-year NBA career, later becoming an NBA head coach.
Sports · born 1984Jimmy Howardice hockey goaltender, broadcasterGoaltender who spent his entire NHL career with the Red Wings, backstopping the team for over a decade before staying on in Detroit as a television analyst.
Sports · born 1984Ryan Keslerice hockey playerLivonia-born center and Selke Trophy winner who grew up playing Detroit-area youth hockey before a long NHL career, mostly with the Vancouver Canucks.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 ↗