Politics · born 1965
Thaddeus McCotterpolitician, radio hostDetroit-born Republican congressman for the northwestern suburbs (2003–2012) and 2012 presidential hopeful who later hosted talk radio in Detroit.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)
1747 people · 12/37 page
Clear filtersPolitics · born 1965Thaddeus McCotterpolitician, radio hostDetroit-born Republican congressman for the northwestern suburbs (2003–2012) and 2012 presidential hopeful who later hosted talk radio in Detroit.
Sports · born 1988
Justin Meramsoccer player, wingerMetro Detroit-born winger, son of Iraqi immigrants who met in the Detroit area, who played for the Iraq national team and later returned home to play for the Michigan Stars.
Fashion · born 1984Naima Morafashion modelWinner of America's Next Top Model Cycle 4, raised on Detroit's northwest side and a graduate of Cass Technical High School.Fredy Perlmanauthor, translator, publisherCzech-born anarchist writer and publisher whose Black & Red press made Detroit a center of radical publishing; author of Against His-Story, Against Leviathan!
Music · born 1956Greg Phillinganeskeyboardist, singer, arrangerDetroit-born keyboard ace who went from classical lessons with a Detroit Symphony pianist to Stevie Wonder's band and musical director for Michael Jackson.
Music · born 1978Denaun Porterrapper, record producerD12 founding member who grew up in Detroit and became one of Eminem's closest production partners and a sought-after hip-hop producer.
Sports · born 1973Brian Rafalskiice hockey defensemanDearborn-born defenseman, an undrafted free agent who signed with his hometown Red Wings in 2007 and won the Stanley Cup with them in 2008.
Music · born 1941Martha Reevessinger, former Detroit City Council memberLead singer of Martha and the Vandellas, who went from Motown secretary to star with “Heat Wave” and “Dancing in the Street”, and later served on the Detroit City Council.
Comedy · born 1984Sam Richardsonactor, comedian, writer, producerVeep and Ted Lasso actor who grew up in Boston-Edison, trained at Planet Ant and Second City Detroit and co-created Detroiters, a comedy shot on Detroit streets.
Sports · born 1979Ruth Rileybasketball player, centerNotre Dame national champion who became the first person to win Most Outstanding Player honors in both the NCAA and WNBA championships, leading the Detroit Shock to its first WNBA title in 2003.Rockwellsinger, songwriterSon of Motown founder Berry Gordy, born and raised in Detroit, who scored a 1984 hit with "Somebody's Watching Me" featuring Michael Jackson.
Sports · born 1982Chris Sabinprofessional wrestlerDetroit-born wrestler who trained in the Michigan independent scene before becoming a multiple-time champion, half of the Detroit-nicknamed tag team the Motor City Machine Guns.Chris Savinoanimator, comic book artistCreator of Nickelodeon's The Loud House, whose fictional Michigan town of Royal Woods is modeled on his hometown of Royal Oak.
Comedy · born 1963Mary Scheeractress, comedian, writer, producerDetroit-born comedian, an original MADtv cast member and Freddie's overprotective mother Marissa Benson on Nickelodeon's iCarly.
Sports · born 1983Alex Shelleyprofessional wrestlerDetroit-born wrestler who, with tag partner Chris Sabin, built a career-long duo named for their hometown: the Motor City Machine Guns.
Film & TV · born 1976
Haaz SleimanactorLebanese actor of The Visitor and Killing Jesus who, after immigrating at 21, lived in metro Detroit and earned a computer science degree at Wayne State University.
Music · 1945–2024J. D. Southersinger, songwriter, actorDetroit-born songwriter behind Eagles hits like “Best of My Love” and “New Kid in Town”, and early duo partner of fellow Detroit native Glenn Frey.
Music · 1941–2023Barrett Strongsinger, songwriterSinger of "Money (That's What I Want)," Motown's first hit, who became the lyricist behind "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone."
Music · 1936–2008Levi Stubbssinger, voice actorLifelong Detroiter and lead voice of the Four Tops, formed with Pershing High School friends, who sang “Reach Out I'll Be There” and is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery.
Music · born 1973Trick-Trickrapper, record producerDetroit rapper and producer of the Goon Sqwad, best known for the civic-pride anthem “Welcome 2 Detroit” with Eminem.
Sports · born 1994Jacob Troubaice hockey defensemanOakland County-born NHL defenseman who played youth hockey for the Detroit-area Compuware club and one standout season at the University of Michigan.
Auto industry · 1903–1956Preston Tuckerautomobile entrepreneur and designerLincoln Park–raised car dreamer behind the futuristic Tucker 48, whose story became the 1988 film Tucker: The Man and His Dream.
Film & TV · born 1984Jordan Vogt-Robertsfilm and television directorDirector of The Kings of Summer and Kong: Skull Island, who grew up in metro Detroit and graduated from Royal Oak's Dondero High School in 2003.
Sports · born 1958Mike Woodsonbasketball coach, former playerLongtime NBA assistant who spent one season on Larry Brown's Pistons bench in 2003–04 and won an NBA championship with Detroit before going on to a long head-coaching career elsewhere.
Sports · born 1967Dana Barrosbasketball player, guardSharpshooting guard, a former All-Star elsewhere, who closed out his NBA career with two seasons off the Pistons' bench.
Music · born 1970Brendan Bensonsinger-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producerPower-pop songwriter born in Royal Oak whose Detroit attic was where he and Jack White wrote the first song of the Raconteurs in 2005.
Politics · born 1964Dave Bratpolitician, economist, diplomatEconomics professor and Virginia congressman who unseated House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in 2014; born in Detroit and raised in Alma, Michigan.
Film & TV · 1924–1973Wally Coxactor, comedianStar of early TV's Mister Peepers and voice of Underdog, born in Detroit and a graduate of the city's Denby High School.Myndy CristactressFilm and television actress with more than 50 screen credits, born in Detroit and raised in Marin County, California.
Sports · born 1973Johnny Damonbaseball player, outfielderTwo-time World Series champion outfielder who spent a single, memorable season with the Tigers in 2010, notching his 2,500th career hit and a walk-off homer in Detroit.
Auto industry · 1868–1920Horace Dodgemachinist, automobile manufacturer, co-founder of Dodge BrothersThe engineering half of the Dodge Brothers, who supplied Ford's first engines, built Dodge Main in Hamtramck and helped create Orchestra Hall.
Literature · 1921–2019Carol Emshwillershort-story writer, novelistNebula-winning avant-garde science-fiction writer, praised by Ursula K. Le Guin, who was born, studied and married in Ann Arbor on the edge of the Detroit region.
Sports · born 1991Langston Gallowaybasketball player, guardUndrafted guard who earned a three-year, $21 million contract with the Pistons in 2017 and spent three seasons as a steady bench scorer in Detroit.
Sports · born 1994Jared GoffAmerican football quarterbackQuarterback traded to Detroit in 2021 for Matthew Stafford who revived his career, ending the Lions' decades-long playoff-win drought and leading them to consecutive division titles.
Sports · born 1973Darvin Hambasketball coach, former playerReserve forward on the Pistons' 2004 championship team who went on to a long coaching career, including as Los Angeles Lakers head coach.
Music · 1929–2021Barry Harrisjazz pianist, composer, educatorDetroit bebop pianist whose family home was a jam-session school for a generation of the city's jazz musicians, and who became one of jazz's great teachers.
Politics · born 1967Jon HustedpoliticianOhio Republican, U.S. senator since 2025, who was born in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak and adopted as an infant by an Ohio family.
Sports · born 1984Brad KeselowskiNASCAR driver and team ownerRochester Hills-born NASCAR champion who grew up in a Michigan racing family and has called winning at Michigan International Speedway more meaningful than winning the Daytona 500.
Military · 1908–1987Edward LansdaleU.S. Air Force general, CIA officerDetroit-born Air Force officer and CIA operative who pioneered psychological warfare in the Philippines and South Vietnam in the 1950s.
Auto industry · 1843–1932Henry M. Lelandmachinist, engineer, automakerPrecision machinist who founded both Cadillac and Lincoln in Detroit, pushed through the electric self-starter, and was a leading voice of Progressive-era reform in the city.
Film & TV · 1946–2013Richard LeParmentieractor, screenwriterStar Wars' Admiral Motti, the officer Darth Vader chokes with the Force, who trained in drama at Wayne State University before moving to Britain.
Science & invention · born 1955Jerry M. Linengerastronaut, Navy physicianNavy flight surgeon and NASA astronaut from East Detroit who spent almost five months aboard the Russian space station Mir in 1997, surviving a fire on board; a Wayne State medical graduate.
Sports · born 1976Kate Markgrafsoccer player and executiveBloomfield Hills-born defender who starred at Detroit Country Day School before a decorated international career that included three Olympic medals and a World Cup title.
Sports · born 1983Jason Maxiellbasketball player, coachPower forward who spent his entire eight-season NBA career with the Pistons, drafted in 2005 and retiring as a Piston in 2017.
Science & invention · 1922–2012Stanford R. Ovshinskyinventor, physicist, entrepreneurSelf-taught inventor of the nickel-metal hydride battery and thin-film solar panels, who built his company Energy Conversion Devices in Detroit and Troy over half a century.
Music · 1936–2014Jimmy Ruffinsoul singerMotown singer of “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted”, older brother of Temptations lead David Ruffin, who built his career at Hitsville in Detroit.
Film & TV · born 1958Ellen Sandweissactress, singerCheryl in The Evil Dead, a Detroit-born high school friend of Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell whose film premiered at Detroit's Redford Theatre in 1981.
Film & TV · born 1939Robert Shayefilm executive, producer, director, actorDetroit-born founder of New Line Cinema, the studio behind A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Lord of the Rings, and a graduate of Mumford High School.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 ↗