42.3301° N, 83.0462° W

DETROIT

Most Famous People Born in Detroit, United States

Notable people
3,099
Peak decade
1950s
Median birth year
1949
Most distinctive
Basket 4.6×

Motown, and everything Motown taught the rest of American music. Detroit's distinctive shelves run to basketball, baseball, hockey, and a music industry — singers, producers, novelists — that reads like the statistical fingerprint of a postwar Black working-class city that built a national sound and kept rebuilding one. Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, Jack White, and Eminem all grew up inside a few miles of each other.

Through the Decades

One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Detroit during each.

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1950s with 458 notable births.

What Detroit Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Football is Detroit's biggest profession — 9% of all notables (290).

Detroit over-indexes on basket4.6× the global rate.

Detroit under-produces politician — only 0.6× the global rate.

  1. Football290
  2. Actor242
  3. Politician227
  4. Basket179
  5. Music158
  6. Baseball157
  7. Singer156
  8. Hockey117
  1. Basket1794.6×
  2. Baseball1574.5×
  3. Music1583.6×
  4. Producer313.5×
  5. Hockey1173.2×
  6. Novelist383.1×
  7. Boxer332.7×
  8. Singer1562.4×
  1. Politician2270.6×
  2. Writer660.7×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of Detroit's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

175018001850190019502000
  • Sports
  • Music
  • Film & TV
  • Politics & Law
  • Writing
  • Science
  • Other
All3,099
Sort By

Showing 403 of 3,099 notable people

2202 FOLKLORIST

Kay Turner

Born 1948

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2203 PHILOLOGIST

Gerald Michael Browne

1943 - 2004

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2228 FOOTBALL

Ron Berger

Born 1942

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2233 MONK

George Winne Jr.

1947 - 1970

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2235 PRESENTER

Cyndy Garvey

Born 1949

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2242 COMPOSER

Stephanie Tyrell

1949 - 2003

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2245 MISSING

Duane Litfin

Born 1943

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2266 BASEBALL

Greg Bollo

Born 1943

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2270 BASEBALL

Glenn Redmon

Born 1948

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2273 BASEBALL

Ike Blessitt

Born 1949

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2274 BUSINESS

Jack Cowin

Born 1942

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2284 LAWYER

John E. Steele

Born 1949

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2286 INSURANCE

Barry Bremen

1947 - 2011

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2314 PHYSICIAN

Eric Schoomaker

Born 1948

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2332 ARMY

Robert Leslie Poxon

1947 - 1969

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2333 FOOTBALL

Henry Reed (American football)

Born 1948

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2335 POLITICIAN

Kathy Brynaert

Born 1944

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2345 COMPOSER

Norman L. Berman

Born 1949

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2354 SPORT

Dave Schreiber

Born 1944

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2380 CONSERVATIVE

Milton Balkany

Born 1946

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2381 POLITICIAN

David Daubney

Born 1947

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2406 POLITICIAN

John F. Kelly (Michigan politician)

1949 - 2018

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2411 GOLF

Bob Panasik

Born 1941

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2420 FOOTBALL

Lonnie Sanders

Born 1941

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2430 LAWYER

Clark Durant

Born 1949

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2431 FOOTBALL

Doug Collins (Canadian football)

Born 1946

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2432 WRITER

Jon Winokur

Born 1947

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2439 POLITICIAN

Vivian Watts

Born 1940

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2448 BASEBALL

Gary Taylor (baseball)

Born 1945

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2451 POLITICIAN

John J. Considine

Born 1948

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2459 CARTOONIST

Stanley Berneche

Born 1947

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2465 MUSIC

Greg Hopkins

Born 1946

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2471 REPUBLICAN

Bill Bullard Jr.

Born 1943

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2479 ACADEMIC

Frederick Newberry

Born 1941

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2484 POLITICIAN

Sandy Rummel

Born 1942

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2486 PHOTOGRAPHER

Joan Roth

Born 1942

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2498 SPORT

Sam Nover

1942 - 2018

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2508 SINGER

Steve Farmer (musician)

1948 - 2020

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2510 LAWYER

Virgil C. Smith

Born 1947

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2511 ACTOR

Edward C. Gillow

Born 1948

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2517 FATHER

John A. Powell

Born 1947

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2529 SINGER

Gloria Williams

1942 - 2000

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2534 SPORT

George Blaha

Born 1945

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2539 FOOTBALL

John Baker (defensive lineman, born 1942)

Born 1942

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2542 WRESTLER

Jim Hazewinkel

Born 1944

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2548 LAWYER

Harvey Thomas Strosberg

Born 1944

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2550 POLITICIAN

Mickey Cafagna

1943 - 2009

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2554 HOCKEY

Jim Niekamp

Born 1946

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2561 DIPLOMAT

Michael Dougall Bell

1943 - 2017

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2573 HOCKEY

Keith Kokkola

Born 1949

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2577 PIANIST

Charles Eubanks

Born 1948

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2587 COMPOSER

Rodger Penzabene

1944 - 1967

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2588 SINGER

Hubert Johnson (musician)

1941 - 1981

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2594 PIANIST

Richard Harper

Born 1949

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2603 HOCKEY

Brian Glenwright

1949 - 2006

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2607 FOOTBALL

Ted Collins (Canadian football)

Born 1943

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2647 COMEDIAN

Gene Taylor (TV and radio personality)

1947 - 2001

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2653 REPORTER

Paul Berry (television)

Born 1944

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2666 FOOTBALL

Gene Hamlin

Born 1946

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2674 BASEBALL

Mike Paul

Born 1945

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2691 FOOTBALL

John Metras

1941 - 2020

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2696 BUSINESS

Shel Bachrach

Born 1944

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2718 FOOTBALL

Henry Hill (American football)

Born 1949

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2719 POLITICIAN

Harold Haugh

Born 1949

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2731 TRADE UNION

General Baker

1941 - 2014

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2732 BASEBALL

Bill Zepp

Born 1946

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2733 FOOTBALL

Gus Kasapis

Born 1942

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2742 MISSING

William A. Roberts

Born 1946

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2755 PLAYER

Larry Rundle

Born 1944

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2764 BASKET

Tom Smith (basketball)

Born 1944

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2781 POET

Susan Mesinai

Born 1942

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2798 POLITICIAN

David Sharpe (politician)

Born 1946

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2809 ARTIST

Jim Pallas

Born 1941

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2823 PSYCHOLOGIST

James Jackson (psychologist)

1944 - 2020

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2825 FOOTBALL

Craig Wycinsky

Born 1948

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2828 POLITICIAN

Francene Cosman

Born 1941

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2831 WORKER

Burton Leland

1948 - 2018

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2850 BASEBALL

Rico Zuccaro

Born 1942

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2865 POLITICIAN

John C. Hertel

Born 1946

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2873 FOOTBALL

Doug Specht

Born 1942

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2874 PRIEST

George Councell

1949 - 2018

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2915 COLUMNIST

Steve Wildstrom

1947 - 2015

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2916 NEWS PRESENTER

Rich Fisher (news anchor)

1949 - 2017

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2918 ROWER

Scott Steketee

Born 1947

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2928 BASEBALL

Leo Marentette

1941 - 2014

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2936 POLITICIAN

Joyce Mojonnier

Born 1943

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2955 LAWYER

Wylie A. Aitken

Born 1942

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2979 FOOTBALL

Phil Seymour (American football)

1947 - 2013

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2983 BASEBALL

Mike Joyce (baseball)

Born 1941

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2992 MUSIC

Muruga

Born 1942

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2995 DRUMMER

Jackson Krall

Born 1949

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3003 GEOLOGIST

Christopher Anne Suczek

1942 - 2014

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3004 FOOTBALL

Mike Fitzgerald (American football)

Born 1941

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3031 POLITICIAN

Douglas Glenn Fisher

Born 1942

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3038 COMPOSER

Frank Retzel

Born 1948

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3047 POLITICIAN

Cid Samson

Born 1943

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3048 POLITICIAN

William B. Fitzgerald Jr.

1942 - 2008

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3063 SECRETARY

Richard Lee McCall Jr.

Born 1942

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3066 POLITICIAN

Dennis Dutko

1943 - 1990

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3067 POLITICIAN

John Pridnia

1943 - 2016

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3078 POLITICIAN

Michael J. Bennane

1945 - 2018

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3084 POLITICIAN

Art Miller Jr.

1946 - 2020

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3098 PHYSICIST

Dennis Greywall

Born 1943

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