Film & TV · born 1930
Clint Eastwoodactor, film director, producerDirector and star of Gran Torino (2008), shot entirely in metro Detroit, from Highland Park to Grosse Pointe Park and Royal Oak.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.
- 1,949 famous people
- 516 Detroit places
- 14 fields
Hungarian ties 31 Detroiters with Hungarian ties →
Origin and citizenship
Field
Connection
Born in
A–Z (family name)
28 people
Clear filtersFilm & TV · born 1930Clint Eastwoodactor, film director, producerDirector and star of Gran Torino (2008), shot entirely in metro Detroit, from Highland Park to Grosse Pointe Park and Royal Oak.
Film & TV · born 1959Sam Raimifilm director, producer, screenwriterRoyal Oak-born director who launched The Evil Dead from metro Detroit, premiered it at the Redford Theatre and later shot Crimewave on Detroit streets.
Film & TV · born 1958Bruce Campbellactor, producer, director, writerRoyal Oak-born cult actor, Ash of The Evil Dead, who made his first films with Sam Raimi in Detroit's suburbs and premiered them in Detroit theaters.
Music · 1948–2016Glenn Freysinger, songwriter, guitaristThe Eagles co-founder was born in Detroit, grew up in Royal Oak and cut his teeth in the mid-1960s Detroit rock scene before heading to Los Angeles.
Science & invention · 1928–2011Jack Kevorkianpathologist, right-to-die activistPontiac-born pathologist who assisted in the deaths of scores of patients in metro Detroit in the 1990s and was convicted of second-degree murder in 1999.
Press & broadcasting · 1891–1979
Charles CoughlinCatholic priest, radio broadcaster, political agitatorThe Royal Oak 'Radio Priest' whose 1930s broadcasts from the Shrine of the Little Flower reached tens of millions before turning to antisemitism and support for fascism.
Sports · born 1987Meryl Davisice dancer, Olympic championRoyal Oak-born ice dancer who, with childhood friend Charlie White, trained in metro Detroit and won America's first Olympic ice-dance gold in 2014.
Film & TV · 1931–1983Christopher Georgetelevision and film actorRoyal Oak-born son of Greek immigrants who starred as Sergeant Sam Troy in the 1960s war series The Rat Patrol.
Comedy · born 1959Dave Couliercomedian, actor, voice actorFull House's Joey Gladstone, born in Detroit and raised in St. Clair Shores, who started in stand-up at Royal Oak's Comedy Castle, where he met Bob Saget.Chris Savinoanimator, comic book artistCreator of Nickelodeon's The Loud House, whose fictional Michigan town of Royal Woods is modeled on his hometown of Royal Oak.
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.
Music · born 1970Brendan Bensonsinger-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producerPower-pop songwriter born in Royal Oak whose Detroit attic was where he and Jack White wrote the first song of the Raconteurs in 2005.
Politics · born 1967Jon HustedpoliticianOhio Republican, U.S. senator since 2025, who was born in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak and adopted as an infant by an Ohio family.
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.
Sports · born 1984Peter Vanderkaaycompetition swimmerFour-time Olympic medalist swimmer born in Royal Oak who won relay gold for the United States and later worked in Detroit-area commercial real estate.
Business & brands · born 1963Dick Costolotechnology executive, former CEO of TwitterRoyal Oak–born University of Michigan graduate who co-founded FeedBurner and ran Twitter as CEO from 2010 to 2015.
Science & invention · 1846–1933William Henry Holmesanthropologist, archaeologist, artistSmithsonian anthropologist, survey artist of the American West and director of the national art gallery, who spent his last year with his son in Royal Oak.
Civil rights & activism · 1939–2016Tom Haydenactivist, author, politicianRoyal Oak-raised author of the Port Huron Statement and New Left leader who grew up in Father Coughlin's parish and later served in the California legislature.
Sports · born 1991Torey Krugice hockey defensemanRoyal Oak-born defenseman who came up through metro Detroit's competitive youth hockey system before an NCAA and NHL career built mostly around the Boston Bruins.
Sports · born 1997Kyle MacksnowboarderRoyal Oak-born snowboarder from West Bloomfield who won Olympic silver in Big Air at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, an unusual winter-sports success story out of flat, suburban Detroit.Judith Guestnovelist, screenwriterDetroit-born author of Ordinary People, the basis of the Oscar-winning 1980 film, and great-niece of Free Press poet Edgar Guest.
Music · born 1970Dean Fertitamulti-instrumentalist, singer, songwriterRoyal Oak–born guitarist and keyboardist who led Detroit's Waxwings, then joined Queens of the Stone Age and Jack White's the Dead Weather.
Sports · 1941–2021Bill Freehanbaseball catcherDetroit-born catcher who spent his entire 15-year career with the Tigers, an 11-time All-Star who caught the final out of the 1968 World Series.
Theatre & dance · born 1942Donna McKechniemusical theater dancer, singer, actress, choreographerPontiac-born dancer who trained in Royal Oak and won the 1976 Tony Award as Cassie in A Chorus Line, a role built largely on her own story.
Science & invention · born 1976Mona Hannapediatrician, public health researcherPediatrician raised in Royal Oak and trained at Children's Hospital of Michigan in Detroit, whose research exposed the Flint water crisis and who created the Rx Kids cash program.
Music · 1939–2007Billy Hendersonsinger, dancerFounding member of the Spinners, raised in Royal Oak Township, who was the group's leading dancer for half a century.Bill Munceyunlimited hydroplane racerDetroit-area hydroplane racer, "Mr. Unlimited", who won a record 62 races and eight Gold Cups after starting out on the Detroit River.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 ↗
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