Famous People Born in Michigan a to z

Singer Florence Ballard formed The Supremes in 1961 with childhood friends Mary Wilson and Diana Ross. She sang on 16 different Top 40 hits.

Kristen Bell is an American actress known for her roles on TV's Veronica Mars and in such films as Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Couples Retreat and Get Him to the Greek.

Sandra Bernhard is an actress and stand-up comedian best known for her role on Roseanne and in Martin Scorsese's The King of Comedy.

Ivan Boesky amassed a fortune of over $200 million in the 1980s before an insider trading scandal landed him with a $100 million fine and prison time.

Musician and politician Sonny Bono was once wed to singer Cher and in 1994 was elected to U.S. Congress as a representative from California.

Model Christie Brinkley embodies the all-American look that dominated the fashion industry in the 1980s, during which she appeared on over 200 magazine covers.

Jerry Bruckheimer is an American film and television producer who brought audiences the film Top Gun and the television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Ralph Bunche was a U.S. diplomat, a key member of the United Nations for more than two decades, and the winner of the 1950 Nobel Prize for Peace.

Ben Carson overcame his troubled youth in inner-city Detroit to become a gifted neurosurgeon famous for his work separating conjoined twins.

Caryl Chessman is best known for his controversial conviction for sex crimes and his execution in 1960.

Considered the Godfather of Shock Rock, singer Alice Cooper came to fame in the 1970s, alarming audiences with his garish, often ghoulish stage performances.

Director, producer and screenwriter Francis Ford Coppola is best known for creating The Godfather film series starring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino.

Roger Corman is a film director and producer who helmed B-Movie classics and helped launch the careers of James Cameron, John Sayles, Ron Howard and others.

Dave Coulier is a comedic actor who played Joey Gladstone on the long-running TV sitcom Full House.

Hawley Crippen became the first criminal to be caught with the aid of wireless communication when police arrested him in 1910 for murdering his wife.

Leon Frank Czolgosz is known as the assassin who killed President William McKinley.

Dann Florek is an actor who once had a lead role on Law & Order and later on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

One of America's foremost industrialists, Henry Ford revolutionized assembly-line modes of production for the automobile.

Berry Gordy Jr. founded Motown Records, the most successful black owned music company in the history of the United States.

Actor and comedian David Alan Grier is an accomplished Broadway and film actor who rose to fame as a cast member of the TV sketch-comedy show In Living Color.

Charles Hamilton was an autograph dealer, handwriting expert and author of works like Great Forgers and Famous Fakes.

Robert Hayden was an African-American poet and professor who is best known as the author of poems, including “Those Winter Sundays” and “The Middle Passage.”

Tom Hayden is a political activist and writer who served in the California State Assembly and State Senate. He is also the former husband of actress Jane Fonda.

Film and television actress Tippi Hedren was discovered by director Alfred Hitchcock and starred in two of his best known films, The Birds and Marnie.

American biologist A.D. Hershey won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1969 for his research done on viruses that infect bacteria.

Film director and screenwriter John Hughes directed a string of hit teen films, including Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink.

A popular film actress of the 1940s and 1950s, Betty Hutton starred in such films as Annie Get Your Gun and Greatest Show on Earth.

Justin Jeffre is a member of the popular 1990s boy band 98 Degrees, whose albums have reached gold and multi-platinum status.

Ken Jeong is a Korean-American actor, comedian and physician, best known for his role as the comedic gangster Leslie Chow in The Hangover film franchise.

For 12 years, Earvin "Magic" Johnson dominated the court as one of America's best basketball players. In 1991, he announced that he had the AIDS virus.

Andrew Kehoe was a mass murderer who went on a 1927 killing spree that included dynamiting the Bath, Michigan Consolidated School, killing 37 children.

W.K. Kellogg founded the Kellogg Company, which makes cereal products that have become popular around the world.

Jack Kevorkian was a U.S.-based physician who assisted in patient suicides, sparking increased talk on hospice care and "right to die" legislative action.

Anthony Kiedis is the lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Their 1991 alternative rock album BloodSugarSexMagik sold more than 4 million copies.

Tim LaHaye is an evangelical Christian minister who helped found the Moral Majority and co-wrote the best-selling Left Behind series.

Taylor Lautner is an American actor who portrayed Jacob Black in the Twilight movie series, based on the books by Stephenie Meyer.

Aviator Charles Lindbergh became famous for making the first solo transatlantic airplane flight in 1927.

Actor, writer and producer James Lipton founded the Actors Studio Drama School and has hosted Bravo TV's Inside the Actors Studio since 1994.

Pop legend Madonna is known for her constant reinvention as a performer. Her biggest hits include "Papa Don't Preach," "Like a Prayer" and "Vogue."

Actor Lee Majors achieved stardom through a variety of popular TV series, including The Big Valley, The Fall Guy and The Six Million Dollar Man.

American boxer Floyd Mayweather is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters of his generation. HBO's documentary about him, 24/7, increased his popularity.

S. Epatha Merkerson is an Emmy-Award-winning actress who’s starred on the TV series Law & Order for 17 years.

Terry Nichols was one of the conspirators of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.

Ted Nugent fronted the band Amboy Dukes in the 1970s. He has produced solo work since 1977, including the successful album Cat Scratch Fever.

Business leader and entrepreneur Kevin O'Connor is a co-founder and the CEO of the internet advertising technology company DoubleClick.

Gilda Radner was an award-winning actress and comedian known for her work on Saturday Night Live. She was married to fellow comedian Gene Wilder.

Sam Raimi has directed some of Hollywood's scariest movies and biggest blockbusters, such as Evil Dead 2 and Spider-man.

Elizabeth Reaser is an American actress best known for her roles on the show Grey's Anatomy and in the Twilight film series.

Della Reese is a singer and actress known for her gospel talents and for her role on TV's Touched by an Angel.

Known as the "King of Motown," Smokey Robinson founded the R&B group The Miracles, which delivered 37 Top 40 hits for Motown Records.

When it came to musician Kid Rock, record labels weren't quite sure how to promote a white rapper who blended heavy metal and country rock.

Poet and professor Theodore Roethke was best known for winning the 1953 Pulitzer Prize for his poetry volume The Wakening. His other works include "Open House" and "The Far Field."

Ann Romney is the former first lady of Massachusetts and the wife of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney made a run for the Republican nomination in the 2008 presidential election, losing to John McCain. He made another run for the presidency in 2012, but was defeated by President Barack Obama.

Actor Steven Seagal makes popular action movies such as the 1998 hit Under Siege. He studied martial arts in Asia and opened an academy in the U.S.

Tom Selleck is an actor best known for portraying Thomas Magnum on the 1980s television series Magnum, P.I., and for films including Three Men and a Baby.

Betty Shabazz is best known as the wife of African-American nationalist leader Malcolm X, who was assassinated in New York City in 1965.

Claressa Shields is an American boxer who made her Olympic debut at the Summer Games in London in 2012, and took home an Olympic middleweight gold medal.

Actress Marlo Thomas starred on the 1970s television hits That Girl and Free to Be...You and Me. She is married to Phil Donahue.

Lily Tomlin is an actress and comedian known for roles on TV shows such as Laugh-In and films such as Nashville.

Verne Troyer first came to fame as Mini-Me in the popular 1999 comedy Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me with Mike Myers.

Kate Upton is known for her appearances in Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue in 2011 and 2012, and on the July 2012 cover of GQ magazine. She's also known for a popular video of her provocatively dancing to the Rej3ctz's song, "Cat Daddy."

Jack White is best known for singing and playing guitar with Meg White in the band the White Stripes.

American gymnast Jordyn Wieber is best known as the first U.S. Olympic women's gymnastics team member to hail from Michigan.

American professional tennis player Serena Williams has won 29 Grand Slam titles and several Olympic gold medals.

Stevie Wonder is an American musician and a former child prodigy who became one of the most creative musical figures of the late 20th century. His hit songs include "Living in the City," "Boogie on a Reggae Woman" and "Isn't She Lovely."

An abused child who later earned her living as a sex worker, Aileen Wuornos was found guilty of killing six men and was later executed in a Florida prison.