Film & TV · born 1952Billy Westvoice actor, musicianDetroit-born voice of Futurama's Fry, Farnsworth and Zoidberg, Ren & Stimpy and the red M&M, who grew up in Boston and New Jersey.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
- 366 Detroit places
- 19 fields
Hungarian ties 22 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
14 people
Clear filtersFilm & TV · born 1952Billy Westvoice actor, musicianDetroit-born voice of Futurama's Fry, Farnsworth and Zoidberg, Ren & Stimpy and the red M&M, who grew up in Boston and New Jersey.
Press & broadcasting · born 1959Chris Hansentelevision journalist, presenterDateline NBC's To Catch a Predator host, who grew up in the Detroit suburbs and learned investigative reporting at WXYZ and WDIV.
Literature · born 1958Mitch Albomauthor, newspaper columnist, radio host, philanthropistDetroit Free Press columnist since 1985 and author of Tuesdays with Morrie, whose charities have funded shelters, clinics and homes across Detroit.
Sports · born 1955Eric Bischoffprofessional wrestling producer, executive, on-air personalityDetroit-born wrestling executive who built World Championship Wrestling into a ratings powerhouse in the 1990s and later became a fixture of WWE television.
Sports · born 1958Rick Mahornbasketball player, coach, broadcasterEnforcer on the late-1980s "Bad Boys" Pistons who won the 1989 NBA title in Detroit and has stayed connected to the city for decades as a coach and broadcaster.
Press & broadcasting · 1950–2026Dave Marshrock critic, editor, author, radio hostPontiac-born rock critic who left Wayne State in 1969 to help build Creem, Detroit's irreverent rock magazine, before becoming a Rolling Stone editor and Springsteen biographer.
Civil rights & activism · born 1952Helen Ziajournalist, author, activistChinese American journalist who worked in Detroit's auto plants and, after Vincent Chin's killing in 1982, co-founded American Citizens for Justice and helped build the Asian American civil rights movement.
Press & broadcasting · born 1958Elvis Mitchellfilm critic, radio host, filmmakerHighland Park-born film critic, Wayne State graduate and former Detroit Free Press critic who became a New York Times critic and host of public radio's The Treatment.
Press & broadcasting · born 1950George Nooryradio talk-show host, TV news producerDetroit-born host of the late-night radio show Coast to Coast AM, who started as a newscaster at WCAR and a news producer at WJBK-TV.
Politics · 1951–2023JoAnn Watsonactivist, radio host, pastor, city councilwomanDetroit-born activist, talk radio host and pastor who served ten years on the Detroit City Council (2003–2013) as an outspoken voice against the state takeover of the city.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 ↗