Sports · born 1989Brandon Jenningsbasketball playerFirst American high schooler to skip college for pro basketball in Europe, who played three seasons as the Pistons' starting point guard.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
- 17 fields
Hungarian ties 22 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
16 people
Clear filtersSports · born 1989Brandon Jenningsbasketball playerFirst American high schooler to skip college for pro basketball in Europe, who played three seasons as the Pistons' starting point guard.
Sports · born 1987Jonas Jerebkobasketball playerSwedish forward drafted by the Pistons in 2009 who spent six seasons in Detroit, the longest stretch of his ten-year NBA career.
Sports · born 1990Reggie Jacksonbasketball point guardPoint guard who became the Pistons' leading scorer for several seasons after a 2015 trade, helping them make the playoffs in 2016 before injuries and a rebuild ended his run.
Sports · born 1987Amir Johnsonbasketball forward, coachForward drafted straight out of high school by the Pistons in 2005, who spent four seasons in Detroit learning the game before a long, productive career elsewhere.
Sports · born 1938Hayes Joneshurdler, public officialPontiac-raised hurdler who won Olympic gold in the 110 meters hurdles in Tokyo in 1964 and later led metro Detroit's suburban bus system.
Sports · born 1996Stanley Johnsonbasketball player, forwardEighth overall pick in 2015 who spent four seasons as a young Pistons wing known for his defense, before his career took him overseas.
Sports · born 1967Curtis Josephice hockey goaltenderVeteran goaltender nicknamed "Cujo" who signed with the Red Wings in 2002 hoping to finally win a Stanley Cup, and helped Detroit finish first overall the next season.
Sports · born 2006Maya Jointtennis playerAustralian WTA Tour player born and raised in Grosse Pointe, where she first picked up a racquet as a child, before her family moved back to Australia in 2025.
Sports · born 1992Tomáš Jurčoice hockey forwardSlovak winger drafted by Detroit who spent parts of several seasons with the Red Wings, shuttling between the NHL club and its Grand Rapids farm team.
Sports · born 1985Calvin Johnsonfootball wide receiverHall of Fame wide receiver nicknamed "Megatron" who spent his entire nine-season career with the Detroit Lions and set the NFL single-season receiving yards record.
Sports · 1869–1928Hughie Jenningsbaseball manager, former shortstopTigers manager from 1907 to 1920 who led Detroit to its first three American League pennants, famous for his "Ee-Yah!" cries from the coaching box.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 ↗