Comedy · born 1971Keegan-Michael Keyactor, comedian, writer, producerCo-creator of Key & Peele who grew up in Detroit, studied theater at the University of Detroit Mercy and co-founded Hamtramck's Planet Ant Theatre.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)
9 people
Clear filtersComedy · born 1971Keegan-Michael Keyactor, comedian, writer, producerCo-creator of Key & Peele who grew up in Detroit, studied theater at the University of Detroit Mercy and co-founded Hamtramck's Planet Ant Theatre.
Film & TV · born 1951David Patrick Kellyactor, musician, lyricistDetroit-born character actor, forever Luther of The Warriors, who began writing musicals while studying at the University of Detroit.
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.
Literature · born 1960Kathe Kojanovelist, short-story writer, theatre directorDetroit-born author of the Bram Stoker Award–winning horror novel The Cipher who still lives in metro Detroit and directs the immersive theatre company nerve.
Theatre & dance · born 1985Andrew Keenan-Bolgerstage actor, web-series creatorDetroit-born Broadway actor, a Renaissance High School graduate, who originated Crutchie in Newsies and Jesse Tuck in Tuck Everlasting.
Theatre & dance · born 1978Celia Keenan-Bolgerstage actress, singerDetroit-born Broadway actress, trained at Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit, who won a Tony as Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird (2018).
Theatre & dance · 1937–2026Woodie King Jr.theatre producer, director, filmmakerDetroit-raised founder of Concept East Theatre and New York's New Federal Theatre, a Ford welder turned producer who championed generations of Black playwrights.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 ↗