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.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
- 5 fields
Hungarian ties 22 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
13 people
Clear filtersSports · 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.
Sports · born 1983Ben 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.
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 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 1986Thomas Greissice hockey goaltenderGerman goaltender who signed with Detroit in 2020 and posted back-to-back shutouts during his two seasons with the Red Wings.
Sports · born 1989Sam Gagnerice hockey forwardVeteran forward acquired in a 2020 trade-deadline deal who spent three seasons as a depth scorer and locker-room presence for the Red Wings.
Sports · born 1984Jonas Gustavssonice hockey goaltenderSwedish backup goaltender nicknamed "the Monster" who spent three seasons with the Red Wings and briefly caught fire during the 2012–13 season, and settled with his family in the Detroit area.
Sports · born 1985Mike Greenice hockey defensemanOffensive-minded defenseman, famous for his goal-scoring years in Washington, who spent five seasons as a veteran presence on the Red Wings' blue line.
Sports · born 1981Curtis Grandersonbaseball outfielderPopular Tigers center fielder of 2004–2009 who helped Detroit reach the 2006 World Series and joined the rare 20-20-20-20 club in 2007.
Sports · born 1980Antonio GatesAmerican football tight endDetroit Central High School star who never played college football yet became one of the NFL's greatest tight ends and a 2025 Hall of Famer.
Politics · born 1982Garlin Gilchristsoftware engineer, lieutenant governor of MichiganDetroit-born Microsoft engineer and civic-tech organizer who built the Improve Detroit app for the city and in 2019 became Michigan's first African American lieutenant governor.
Music · born 1980Josh Gracincountry singerWestland-raised country singer who finished fourth on American Idol in 2003 and reached No. 1 on the country chart with “Nothin' to Lose.”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 ↗