Music · born 1945
Neil Youngsinger, songwriter, guitarist, filmmakerCanadian rock icon whose first record deal was with Motown: in 1966 he recorded at Hitsville U.S.A. in Detroit as a member of Rick James's band, the Mynah Birds.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
- 10 fields
Hungarian ties 22 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Origin and citizenship
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
15 people
Clear filtersMusic · born 1945Neil Youngsinger, songwriter, guitarist, filmmakerCanadian rock icon whose first record deal was with Motown: in 1966 he recorded at Hitsville U.S.A. in Detroit as a member of Rick James's band, the Mynah Birds.
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.
Architecture & design · 1912–1986Minoru YamasakiarchitectArchitect of the World Trade Center who built his career in metro Detroit, designing Wayne State's McGregor Center and One Woodward Avenue.
Sports · born 1950Sheila Youngspeed skater and track cyclistDetroit-area speed skater and cyclist who became the first American athlete to win three medals at a single Winter Olympics, in Innsbruck in 1976.
Sports · born 1978Mike Yorkice hockey player, coachWaterford-born forward who rose through Detroit-area youth hockey clubs before a long professional career in the NHL and Germany's top league.Dey Youngactress, sculptorActress with more than 100 screen credits, remembered as the snobbish saleswoman in Pretty Woman; from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
Civil rights & activism · born 1970Gary Yourofskyanimal rights activist, lecturerDetroit-born, Oak Park-raised animal rights lecturer whose 2010 talk 'The Most Important Speech You Will Ever Hear' became a landmark of online vegan activism.
Sports · 1928–2004George Yardleybasketball forwardHall of Fame forward who, in the Pistons' first season in Detroit (1957–1958), became the first NBA player to score 2,000 points in a season.
Politics · 1918–1997Coleman Younglabor organizer, state senator, mayor of DetroitDetroit's first Black mayor (1974–1994), a Tuskegee Airman and fiery labor radical who reshaped the city with the Renaissance Center, the People Mover and new auto plants.
Music · 1943–2021Wanda YoungsingerInkster-born lead singer of the Marvelettes from the mid-1960s, heard on "Don't Mess with Bill" and "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game".
Literature · 1939–2021Al Youngpoet, novelist, essayistCalifornia poet laureate (2005–2008) who spent his youth in Detroit, graduated from Central High and set his first novel, Snakes, among the city's teenage musicians.
Politics · born 1982Coleman Young IIpoliticianOnly son of Mayor Coleman Young, who represented Detroit's Lower East Side in the Michigan House and Senate, ran twice for mayor and joined the Detroit City Council in 2022.Claude Youngtechno DJ and producerDetroit techno DJ famed for hip-hop-style scratching and cutting, whose 1996 DJ-Kicks mix earned him comparisons with Jeff Mills.George Yorkcountry singer, guitaristElder half of the York Brothers, the Kentucky-born harmony duo who became stars of Detroit's country taverns and scored a local smash in 1939 with “Hamtramck Mama.”Leslie Yorkcountry singer, lead guitaristYounger half and lead guitarist of the York Brothers, the Detroit-based country duo behind “Hamtramck Mama” and “Motor City Boogie.”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 ↗