Film & TV · born 1970Matt Letscheractor, playwright, directorGrosse Pointe-born actor (The Mask of Zorro, The Flash's Reverse-Flash) and playwright, discovered at Jeff Daniels' Purple Rose Theatre in Chelsea.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
- 22 fields
Hungarian ties 22 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
277 people · 4/6 page
Clear filtersFilm & TV · born 1970Matt Letscheractor, playwright, directorGrosse Pointe-born actor (The Mask of Zorro, The Flash's Reverse-Flash) and playwright, discovered at Jeff Daniels' Purple Rose Theatre in Chelsea.
Film & TV · born 1974David Robert Mitchellfilm director, screenwriterClawson-born director of It Follows, who has set three of his four features in metro Detroit and shot It Follows around the city.
Film & TV · born 1977Geoff StultsactorActor of 7th Heaven, The Finder and Enlisted, born in Detroit and raised in the Colorado mountains; brother of actor George Stults.
Film & TV · born 1985James WolkactorFarmington Hills native known as Bob Benson on Mad Men, who grew up in Oakland County and trained at the University of Michigan.
Film & TV · born 1985Dan AmboyeractorDetroit-born actor from the Roeper School, known for Younger, Uncoupled and as Prince William in a royal-romance TV movie.
Film & TV · 1913–1984Bob Clampettanimator, director, puppeteerLooney Tunes director and creator of Beany and Cecil, who died in Detroit in 1984 while touring to promote his cartoons on home video.
Film & TV · 1934–1973Michael Dunnactor, singerOscar-nominated actor and singer with dwarfism, raised in Dearborn and schooled in Detroit, best remembered as Dr. Loveless in The Wild Wild West.
Film & TV · born 1972James DuvalactorDetroit-born actor of Donnie Darko, Independence Day and Gregg Araki's cult 'Teen Apocalypse' films.
Film & TV · born 1957Faye GrantactressStar of the 1980s science-fiction saga V and a Theatre World Award winner on Broadway, born in St. Clair Shores and a 1975 Lake Shore High School graduate.
Sports · 1935–2012Alex Karrasprofessional football player, actorDominant Lions defensive tackle for twelve seasons who later became a bestselling book subject, sportscaster and Hollywood actor, remembered as much for owning a downtown Detroit bar as for his play.
Film & TV · born 1988Alexander KochactorGrosse Pointe-raised actor who played the unstable Junior Rennie in the Stephen King adaptation Under the Dome.
Theatre & dance · born 1963Neil LaButeplaywright, film director, screenwriterPlaywright and director of In the Company of Men and The Shape of Things, born in Detroit to a hospital receptionist and a long-haul trucker and raised in Spokane.
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.
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.
Film & TV · born 1976Haaz 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 · 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Film & TV · born 1955Rob Tapertfilm and television producer, writer, directorRoyal Oak-born producer who co-founded Renaissance Pictures with Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell, produced The Evil Dead and co-created Xena: Warrior Princess.
Film & TV · born 1984Jayson BlairactorActor from The New Normal and The Hard Times of RJ Berger, born in Detroit and a tennis player at L'Anse Creuse High School-North in Macomb Township.
Film & TV · born 1960Don HarveyactorCharacter actor of Eight Men Out, Casualties of War and The Thin Red Line, born and raised in St. Clair Shores, where he began acting at Lake Shore High School.
Film & TV · born 1976Page Kennedyactor, rapperDetroit-raised actor and rapper, U-Turn on Weeds and Radon Randell on Blue Mountain State, whose debut album features Detroit rappers.
Film & TV · born 1970Jacqueline Kimactress, writer, filmmaker, composerActress of Star Trek Generations and Charlotte Sometimes and co-writer of Advantageous, who grew up in Bloomfield Hills and started acting there at four.
Film & TV · born 1996Sarah PidgeonactressTony- and Emmy-nominated actress (Stereophonic, Love Story) who grew up in Birmingham, acting at the Community House and attending Groves High School.
Comedy · 1926–2009Soupy Salescomedian, television hostPie-throwing comic whose Lunch with Soupy Sales on Detroit's WXYZ-TV (1953–1960) made him a local legend before he went national.
Theatre & dance · born 1956Ruben Santiago-Hudsonactor, playwright, directorTony-winning actor, playwright of Lackawanna Blues and August Wilson director, who earned his master's degree at Wayne State University, which later gave him an honorary doctorate.
Film & TV · born 1955Newton Thomas Sigelcinematographer, directorDetroit-born cinematographer, a painter turned camera artist, who shot The Usual Suspects, the first X-Men films and Drive.
Film & TV · born 1955Joel Surnowtelevision writer and producerCo-creator of the thriller series 24 and La Femme Nikita, born in Detroit and raised first in Michigan and then in Los Angeles.
Film & TV · born 1981Joe Swanbergindependent filmmakerLeading figure of the mumblecore movement and creator of Netflix's Easy, born in Detroit.
Film & TV · 1903–1954Tom Tylerfilm actor, weightlifterHamtramck-raised B-Western star and screen Captain Marvel, who came home to Hamtramck to die and is buried in Detroit's Mount Olivet Cemetery.
Film & TV · born 1970Larry Joe Campbellactor, comedianAccording to Jim's Andy, a northern Michigan native who earned a theater master's at Wayne State, performed at The Second City Detroit and co-founded the Detroit Creativity Project.
Film & TV · born 1971Sharon Caseactress, former modelDetroit-born soap star who has played Sharon Newman on The Young and the Restless since 1994, winning a Daytime Emmy in 1999.
Comedy · born 1978Eugene Corderoactor, comedian, writerFilipino American comic actor of The Good Place, Loki and Star Trek: Lower Decks, raised in Detroit's northern suburbs and a 1996 graduate of Brother Rice High School.
Film & TV · born 1943Max GailactorBarney Miller's Detective Wojo, born in Detroit and raised on Grosse Ile in the Detroit River, who later earned an MBA at the University of Michigan.
Film & TV · 1951–2020Dan HicksactorPontiac-born actor of Evil Dead II, Darkman and Intruder, a longtime member of Sam Raimi's Michigan circle.
Film & TV · born 1983Ellen HollmanactressDetroit-born actress known for the warrior Saxa in Starz's Spartacus and roles in The Matrix Resurrections.
Film & TV · born 1966Walter Emanuel Jonesactor, martial artist, dancer, singerThe original Black Ranger, Zack Taylor, of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, born and raised 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 ↗