The Michigan Famous

1. Kate Upton

Katherine Elizabeth Upton was born in St. Joseph, Michigan, to Shelley Fawn (Davis), a state tennis champion from Texas, and Jefferson Matthew Upton, a high school athletics director. Her uncle is Michigan congressman Fred Upton. Upton always knew she wanted to be a model. Since signing with IMG ...

2. Madonna

Soundtrack | A League of Their Own

The remarkable, hyper-ambitious Material Girl who never stops re-inventing herself, Madonna has sold over three hundred million records and CDs to adoring fans worldwide. Her film career, however, is another story. Her performances have consistently drawn scathing or laughable reviews from film ...

3. Kid Rock

Actor | Joe Dirt

Robert James Ritchie or Kid Rock is an American rapper, rock musician, singer and actor from Romeo, Michigan. He performed with Joe C and Uncle Kracker for his band. He is known for his appearances on The Simpsons, Joe Dirt and Osmosis Jones. He was previously married to Canadian actress Pamela ...

Born January 17, 1971 in Romeo

4. Kristen Bell

Actress | Frozen

Kristen Anne Bell (born 1980) is an American actress and singer. She was born and raised in Huntington Woods, Michigan, and is the daughter of Lorelei (Frygier), a nurse, and Tom Bell, a television news director. Her ancestry is Polish (mother) and German, English, Irish, and Scottish (father). ...

5. Diana Ross

Soundtrack | The Wiz

Best known as the the lead singer of the popular 1960s singing group The Supremes, Diana Ernestine Earle Ross was born on March 26, 1944, in Detroit, Michigan, the second of six children of African-American parents Ernestine Lillian (Moten), a schoolteacher, and Fred Earl Ross, who served in the ...

6. Francis Ford Coppola

Producer | Apocalypse Now

Francis Ford Coppola was born in 1939 in Detroit, Michigan, but grew up in a New York suburb in a creative, supportive Italian-American family. His father, Carmine Coppola, was a composer and musician. His mother, Italia Coppola (née Pennino), had been an actress. Francis Ford Coppola graduated ...

7. Alice Cooper

Soundtrack | Wayne's World

Alice Cooper was born Vincent Damon Furnier, in Detroit, Michigan, the son of a minister. He moved to Phoenix, Arizona, at a young age and still lives in the state today. At age 17, he formed a rock band called the Earwigs, who changed their name to The Spiders and then The Nazz, before finally ...

8. Christie Brinkley

Actress | National Lampoon's Vacation

Christie Brinkley was born on February 2, 1954 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. She is an actress, known for Vacation (1983), Jack and Jill (2011) and Vegas Vacation (1997). She was previously married to Peter Cook, Richard Taubman, Billy Joel and Jean-François Allaux.

Born February 2, 1954 in Monroe.

9. Stevie Wonder

Soundtrack | Wild Wild West

Born Stevland Hardaway Judkins in Saginaw, Michigan, United States, to Calvin Judkins and Lula Mae Hardaway. Due to being born six weeks premature, Stevie Wonder was born with a condition called retinopathy of prematurity, which made him blind. Stevie Wonder, even with this disability, made his ...

10. Selma Blair

Actress | Cruel Intentions

Throughout her diverse career, Selma Blair has been one of the most versatile and exciting actresses on screen. Blair's longstanding career began with her comedic roles in pop culture classics in the early 2000s. Blair has worked with an array of acclaimed directors including Guillermo del Toro and...

11. Magic Johnson

Producer | Obsessed

Magic Johnson was born on August 14, 1959 in Lansing, Michigan, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Obsessed (2009), Dead Tone (2007) and Hair Show (2004). He has been married to Cookie Johnson since September 14, 1991. They have two children.

12. Ellen Burstyn

Actress | Requiem for a Dream

Ellen Burstyn was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Correine Marie (Hamel) and John Austin Gillooly. She is of Irish, French/French-Canadian, Pennsylvania Dutch (German), and Native American ancestry.. She worked a number of jobs before she became an actress. At 14, she was a short-order cook at a ...

13. Jack White

Soundtrack | Quantum of Solace

Jack played guitar and sang in the band The White Stripes. They released six albums: their self-titled debut -- "The White Stripes", "De Stijl", "White Blood Cells", "Elephant", "Get Behind Me Satan", and "Icky Thump", before breaking up in 2011.

White also sings and plays guitar in the band The ...

14. Pam Dawber

Actress | Mork & Mindy

Actress Pam Dawber grew up in a suburb of Detroit. Her career began to take off when a friend who was going to New York suggested that Pam accompany her and bring along her modeling portfolio to show various New York modeling agents. A pretty girl, Pam had done some modeling in Detroit, where she ...

15. Iggy Pop

Actor | Cry-Baby

Iggy Pop was born on April 21, 1947 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. He is a music artist and actor, known for Cry-Baby (1990), Coffee and Cigarettes (2003) and Dead Man (1995). He has been married to Nina Alu since November 22, 2008. He was previously married to Suchi Asano and Wendy Weissberg.

16. Gilda Radner

Actress | Saturday Night Live

Gilda Radner was one of the great comic geniuses of the 20th century, ranked with Lucille Ball and other comedy legends of the highest caliber. She was born on June 28, 1946, in Detroit, Michigan, the younger of two children of Henrietta (Dworkin), a legal secretary, and Herman Radner, a ...

17. J.K. Simmons

Actor | Whiplash

J.K. Simmons is an American actor.

He was born Jonathan Kimble Simmons in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, to Patricia (Kimble), an administrator, and Donald William Simmons, a music teacher. He attended the Ohio State University, Columbus, OH; University of Montana, Missoula, MT (BA in Music).

He had ...

18. Marlo Thomas

Actress | That Girl

Many well known and highly identifiable actresses have tried and failed to make the arduous crossover from fizzy TV sitcom star to mature, dramatic artist. Usually it was their hardcore fans who refused to accept them in any other light. Sally Field and Elizabeth Montgomery come first to mind as ...

19. Dax Shepard

Self | Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

Dax Randall Shepard was born in 1975 in Milford, a suburb of Detroit, Michigan, to Laura (LaBo), who worked at GM, and Dave Robert Shepard, Sr., a car salesman. His mother is of French-Canadian and Belgian descent. With both his parents working in the automotive industry, Dax's first love was cars.

...

20. Ted Nugent

Soundtrack | Superbad

Ted Nugent was born on December 13, 1948 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for Superbad (2007), The Heat (2013) and Pain & Gain (2013). He has been married to Shemane Nugent since January 21, 1989. They have one child. He was previously married to Sandra Ann Jezowski.

21. Serena Williams

Actress | Pixels

Serena Williams is one of the greatest female tennis players of all time. She earned her first Grand Slam singles title at the U.S. Open in 1999, and won a string of five Grand Slam singles title wins: the 2002 French Open, Wimbledon, and U.S. Open titles and the 2003 Australian Open and her second...

22. Ed McMahon

Soundtrack | The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

Ed McMahon's first appearance before a microphone was as a 15-year-old "caller" at a bingo game in Maine. After that, he spent the next three years touring the state fair and carnival circuit. A Marine fighter pilot during World War II, McMahon sold vegetable slicers on Atlantic City's boardwalk to...

23. Sandra Bernhard

Actress | The King of Comedy

Performer, actress, singer and author Sandra Bernhard appeared as a series regular in season three of the immensely popular FX Television/Ryan Murphy show "POSE" reprising her role as brassy but caring Nurse Judy Kubrack, who works with H.I.V. / AIDS patients, following a memorable season one guest...

24. Casey Kasem

Actor | Ghostbusters

Born an entertainer, Casey reigns from Michigan, the same birthplace for fellow Shaggy voice actor Matthew Lillard (whom both Casey and Matthew do a very fine, smashing job voicing the iconic character). Debuted as a radio operator and legendary disc jockey in his early days, he was the greatest ...

25. Piper Laurie

Actress | The Hustler

Piper Laurie was a three-time Oscar nominee, nominated by BAFTA as well as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for best performance by an actress in 'The Hustler' with Paul Newman.

Laurie was born Rosetta Jacobs in Detroit, Michigan, to Charlotte Sadie (Alperin) and Alfred Jacobs, a ...

26. Byron Allen

Producer | America's Court with Judge Ross

Byron Allen was born in 1961 in Detroit. Not long afterward, he moved to LA. When he was just a teenager, he started doing stand-up clubs in Los Angeles. That was where comedian Jimmie 'JJ' Walker discovered him, and offered him a job as a writer. Allen worked alongside David Letterman and Jay Leno...

27. Christine Lahti

Actress | Chicago Hope

Christine Lahti was born April 4, 1950 in Birmingham, Michigan, to Elizabeth Margaret (Tabar), a painter and nurse, and Paul Theodore Lahti, a surgeon. She is of half Finnish and half Austro-Hungarian descent. She studied fine arts at Florida State University and received a bachelors degree in ...

28. Betsy Brandt

Actress | Breaking Bad

Betsy Brandt was born on March 14, 1973 in Bay City, Michigan, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Breaking Bad (2008), Magic Mike (2012) and The Valet (2022). She has been married to Grady Olsen since 1996. They have two children.

29. Roger Corman

Actor | The Silence of the Lambs

Roger William Corman was born April 5, 1926, in Detroit, Michigan. Initially following in his father's footsteps, Corman studied engineering at Stanford University but while in school, he began to lose interest in the profession and developed a growing passion for film. Upon graduation, he worked a...

30. Faye Grant

Actress | My Best Friend's Girl

Faye Grant was born in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, in 1957, and was involved in theater as a teenager. She left home at 18, hitchhiking throughout Mexico, the U.S., and Canada. After living in Mexico City, where she did Spanish commercials, she moved to Los Angeles. She played the role of Rhonda on ...

31. Berry Gordy

Soundtrack | Guardians of the Galaxy

Berry Gordy was born on November 28, 1929 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He is a composer and producer, known for Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Charlie's Angels (2000) and Wild Card (2015). He was previously married to Grace Easton, Raynoma Singleton and Thelma Louise Coleman.

32. S. Epatha Merkerson

Actress | Law & Order

A native of Michigan, S. Epatha Merkerson earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Wayne State University. In 1978, she moved to New York City to apply her craft on stage. Although best known since 1993 as the smart and shrewd Lieutenant Anita Van Buren on the long-running TV crime drama Law &...

33. Taylor Lautner

Actor | Twilight

Taylor Daniel Lautner was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Deborah, a software company worker, and Daniel Lautner, a pilot for Midwest Airlines. He and his younger sister Makena were raised in a well-mannered, Roman Catholic household in Hudsonville, Michigan. He is of English, German, Dutch, and...

34. Crystal Reed

Actress | Swamp Thing

Crystal Reed is of half-Native American and half-Polish descent. Growing up in Detroit, Michigan, she began studying the arts a young age. She pursued dance and theater as a child and began working as an actor in local productions. She later attend Wayne State University where she was admitted into...

35. Sam Raimi

Director | Spider-Man

Highly inventive U.S. film director/producer/writer/actor Sam Raimi first came to the attention of film fans with the savage, yet darkly humorous, low-budget horror film, The Evil Dead (1981). From his childhood, Raimi was a fan of the cinema and, before he was ten-years-old, he was out making ...

36. Gail O'Grady

Actress | Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo

Gail Ann O'Grady an American actress and producer, is best known for her roles on television. Her roles include Donna Abandando in the ABC police drama NYPD Blue, and Helen Pryor in the NBC drama series American Dreams. O'Grady is also well known for her lead roles in a number of television movies....

37. John Hughes

Writer | Planes, Trains & Automobiles

John Hughes was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter. He was credited for creating some of the most memorable comedy films of the 1980s and the 1990s, when he was at the height of his career. He had a talent for writing coming-of-age stories, and for depicting fairly realistic...

38. Elizabeth Berkley

Actress | Showgirls

Elizabeth Berkley was born in Farmington Hills, Michigan, to Jere, a gift basket business owner and Fred Berkley, a lawyer. She has an older brother, Jason (b. 1969). Her family is Jewish. By five, she was taking tap and jazz classes with Barbara Fink and ballet classes at Detroit Dance Company. ...

39. Duff Goldman

Actor | Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Duff Goldman was born on December 17, 1974 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He is a producer and actor, known for Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008), Holiday Baking Championship (2014) and A Gingerbread Christmas (2022). He has been married to Johnna Goldman since January 19, 2019. They have one child.

40. Judy Greer

Actress | 13 Going on 30

Judy Greer was born and raised outside of Detroit, Michigan, as Judith Therese Evans. She is the daughter of Mollie Ann (née Greer), a hospital administrator and former nun, and Richard Evans, a mechanical engineer. She has German, Irish, English, Welsh, and Scottish ancestry. After training for ...

41. Bob Seger

Soundtrack | Beverly Hills Cop II

Bob Seger was born on May 6, 1945 in Dearborn, Michigan, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for Beverly Hills Cop II (1987), Body Heat (1981) and Armageddon (1998). He has been married to Juanita Dorricott since July 10, 1993. They have two children. He was previously married to Annette ...

Born May 6, 1945 in Detroit

42. Jana Kramer

Actress | One Tree Hill

Jana Kramer was born on December 2, 1983 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for One Tree Hill (2003), Friday Night Lights (2006) and Entourage (2004). She was previously married to Mike Caussin, Johnathon Schaech and Michael Gambino.

43. Uncle Kracker

Soundtrack | Osmosis Jones

Uncle Kracker was born on June 6, 1974 in Mount Clemens, Michigan, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for Osmosis Jones (2001), 3000 Miles to Graceland (2001) and Sweet Home Alabama (2002). He has been married to Melanie Haas since May 8, 1998. They have three children.

44. Elizabeth Reaser

Actress | Twilight

Elizabeth Ann Reaser was born July 2, 1975 in Bloomfield, Michigan, to Karen (Weidman) and John Reaser. As the middle child in a trio of sisters, she grew up in rural Milford, MI. Her mother, a homemaker, and her father, an attorney turned restaurateur turned substitute teacher, divorced, and her ...

45. Tom Izzo

Actor | With a Kiss

Tom Izzo was born on January 30, 1955 in Iron Mountain, Michigan, USA. He is an actor, known for With a Kiss (2016), Dickie V (2022) and SportsCenter (1979). He has been married to Lupe Marinez since May 30, 1992. They have two children.

Michigan State basketball coach, national champion (1), and final four regular. Born and raised in Iron Mountain

46. Katie Chonacas

Actress | Couples Therapy

Katie Chonacas is a globally outstanding Greek-American actor with over two decades of experience in the Hollywood entertainment industry. She began her career as a classically trained actor, model, poet, producer, painter, and philanthropist at an early age. Katie rapidly gained a reputation for ...

47. Sherilyn Fenn

Actress | Of Mice and Men

The sultry, versatile, petite (5' 4") beauty Sherilyn Fenn was born Sheryl Ann Fenn in Detroit, Michigan, into a family of musicians. The youngest of three children, her mother, Arlene Quatro, played keyboard in rock bands, her aunt is rock-star Suzi Quatro, and her grandfather, Art Quatro, was a ...

48. Brad Keselowski

Actor | Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!

Brad Keselowski was born on February 12, 1984 in Rochester Hills, Michigan, USA. He is an actor, known for Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! (2015), Logan Lucky (2017) and NASCAR on ESPN (2007). He has been married to Paige Keselowski since February 11, 2017. They have three children.

49. Carla Harvey

Actress | Happy in the Valley

Carla Harvey was born on October 4, 1976 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. She is an actress, known for Happy in the Valley (2009), Rules of Engagement (2007) and Dry Run (2010).

50. Simone Missick

Actress | All Rise

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Simone always knew she was meant to perform. Growing up, Simone spent years playing the violin, singing, and playing sports before she decided to focus on acting. While in her first year as an English major at Howard University, she decided to take a theatre for ...

51. Jemele Hill

Actress | Luke Cage

Jemele Hill was born on December 21, 1975 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. She is a producer and writer, known for Luke Cage (2016), National Champions (2021) and New Money. She has been married to Ian Wallace since November 10, 2019.

Born December 21, 1975 in Detroit. Michigan State alum

52. Danny Thomas

Actor | Make Room for Daddy

Known primarily as a TV actor, he starred as a nightclub singer on the popular The Danny Thomas Show (1953).

He also served TV behind the cameras partnering with Sheldon Leonard and Aaron Spelling to create such shows as Dick Van Dyke's show, The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961), The Andy Griffith Show (...

53. Suzi Quatro

Soundtrack | Cruella

Born in Detroit and grew up in the nearby suburb of Grosse Pointe, Michigan. Moved to England to pursue music career. Had tremendous success as a rock singer in Britain and worldwide, but only managed one hit in her native America. Was reportedly asked to audition for the part of Happy Days (1974)'...

Born June 30, 1950 in Detroit.

54. Mia Serafino

Actress | Beef

Mia Serafino was born in Detroit, Michigan, USA. She is an actress, known for Beef (2023), Shameless (2011) and iCarly (2021).

Born April 19, 1989 in Detroit

55. Sharon Case

Actress | The Young and the Restless

Sharon Case was born on February 9, 1971 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. She is an actress, known for The Young and the Restless (1973), Diplomatic Immunity (1991) and Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990). She was previously married to Sandy Corzine.

Born Feb. 9, 1971 - Detroit

56. Zoey Monroe

Actress | Bitter Sweet

Cute and petite 5'2" blonde Zoey Monroe was born on June 11, 1992 in Detroit, Michigan. Her first job was working at a Hollister Co. clothing store. Zoey began her career in the adult entertainment industry dancing at a strip club in her native Detroit; she decided to pursue a career in porn in ...

Born in Detroit June 11, 1992

57. Maribeth Monroe

Actress | Workaholics

Maribeth Monroe was born on March 25, 1978 in Michigan, USA. She is an actress, known for Workaholics (2011), The Good Place (2016) and The Brink (2015). She has been married to Andy Cobb since 2014. They have one child.

Born March 25, 1978 in Fraser, Mi.

58. Lin Shaye

Actress | Insidious

Lin attended the University of Michigan, where she was an Art History major, although acting in as many University productions as possible, including "Bye Bye Birdie" and "On The Town". After U of M, she attended Columbia University School of the Arts, and acquired a Master of Fine Arts degree in ...

Born Oct. 12, 1943 - Detroit

59. Megan Boone

Actress | Accused

Megan Boone was born in Petoskey, Michigan, USA. She is an actress, known for Accused (2023), The Underground Railroad (2021) and The Blacklist (2013). She has been married to Dan Estabrook since 2016. They have one child.

Born in Petoskey, Mi. April 29, 1983

60. Dean Cain

Actor | God's Not Dead

Dean Cain was born Dean George Tanaka in Mount Clemens, Michigan, to actress Sharon Thomas Cain and Roger Tanaka. His mother married his adoptive father, director Christopher Cain, when Dean was three. Though he grew up in Malibu and attended Santa Monica High School, his career plans favored ...

61. Myndy Crist

Actress | The Time Machine

Myndy Crist was born on February 5, 1971 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for The Time Machine (2002), Dark Skies (2013) and The Jane Austen Book Club (2007). She is married to Josh Stamberg. They have two children.

62. Meg White

Actress | Coffee and Cigarettes

She is not the older sister of The White Stripes band mate Jack White, as we were originally led to believe. Rather, Megan Martha White, born in Detroit on December 10, 1974, is Jack Gillis White's former wife and current drummer. Meg's drumming style is unique in its simplicity, and Jack has often...

63. Sinbad

Actor | Jingle All the Way

Sinbad was born in Benton Harbor, Michigan to two parents, Louise and the Baptist Rev. Dr. Donald Beckley Adkins and was then known as David Adkins. He is primarily known as an actor and somewhat a writer and proved his comedic acting style in House Guest (1994), Jingle All the Way (1996), First ...

64. Steve Mariucci

Any Given Sunday

Steve Mariucci was born on November 4, 1955 in Iron Mountain, Michigan, USA. He is an actor, known for Any Given Sunday (1999), Arli$$ (1996) and NFL Network Special (2017). He has been married to Gayle Wood since July 10, 1982. They have four children.

65. Nicole Alexander

Actress | The Regiment

Nicole Alexander is an American actress and reality star who was born on July 12, 1982 in Detroit, Michigan as Nicole Deannae Alexander. She was the winner of Flavor of Love, season 1, in 2006, and I Love Money in 2008. She also had her first acting role in Ghetto Stories in 2010.

66. El DeBarge

Soundtrack | Short Circuit

El DeBarge was born on June 4, 1961 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for Short Circuit (1986), Snake Eyes (1998) and The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005). He is married to Monique DeBarge. They have one child. He was previously married to Tracey Ferguson.

67. Brandon T. Jackson

Actor | Tropic Thunder

Brandon Timothy Jackson was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Beverly Yvonne (Bozeman) and Wayne Timothy Jackson. His parents are both pastors, and his maternal grandfather was a Pentecostal child preacher. He credits his sense of humor to both his father and his life straddling the ...