Literature · 1940–2025Edmund Whitenovelist, memoirist, biographer, essayistPioneering gay novelist of A Boy's Own Story who finished high school at Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills, where he wrote his first two novels.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.
- 1,912 famous people
- 135 Detroit places
- 8 fields
Hungarian ties 22 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
17 people
Clear filtersLiterature · 1940–2025Edmund Whitenovelist, memoirist, biographer, essayistPioneering gay novelist of A Boy's Own Story who finished high school at Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills, where he wrote his first two novels.
Music · 1944–2021Mary Wilsonsinger, authorFounding member of the Supremes who grew up in Detroit's Brewster-Douglass projects and stayed with the group longer than any other original member.
Film & TV · 1943–2019Max WrightactorALF's harried father Willie Tanner, born in Detroit and raised in Southfield, where he starred in high school musicals; he returned to act at the Jewish Ensemble Theatre in 2007.
Music · 1943–1992Mary Wellssinger, songwriterDetroit-born "Queen of Motown" who pitched her first song to Berry Gordy in a nightclub at 17 and topped the Hot 100 with "My Guy" in 1964.
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.”
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.
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.
Music · born 1941Otis Williamssinger, founder of the TemptationsFounder and last original member of the Temptations, who grew up in Detroit and built the group out of the city's teenage vocal scene.
Sports · born 1948Tim Woodfigure skaterHighland Park native, Detroit Skating Club product and 1968 Olympic silver medalist who won the world championship in 1969 and 1970.
Music · born 1946Joyce Vincent WilsonsingerDetroit session singer on Motown, Golden World and Invictus records who became one of the two voices of Dawn with Tony Orlando.
Science & invention · born 1943Bob Waterstonbiologist, geneticistGenome scientist who, with John Sulston, led the sequencing of the first animal genome and was a leader of the Human Genome Project; born in Detroit.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 ↗