List of people from Michigan

Actors, entertainers, and filmmakers

Actors

Directors, filmmakers, and producers

• Ford Beebe, director of films, including serials The Green Hornet and Buck Rogers
• Mike Binder, director, screenwriter and actor, The Upside of Anger, Reign Over Me
• John Randolph Bray, early film animator and producer
• Jerry Bruckheimer, film and television producer, ', Pirates of the Caribbean
• Timothy Busfield, actor and television director, Lipstick Jungle, Without A Trace, Damages
• Bill Carruthers, television producer and director
• William Clemens, director of Nancy Drew and Perry Mason films
• Kerry Conran, screenwriter and director, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
• Francis Ford Coppola, film director and screenwriter, The Godfather trilogy, Apocalypse Now
• Roger Corman, director and producer, The Little Shop of Horrors, The Wild Angels
• Gerald Di Pego, screenwriter and producer, Message in a Bottle
• Paul Feig, film and television director, Bridesmaids
• Robert J. Flaherty, filmmaker of Nanook of the North, first commercially successful documentary
• Anne Fletcher, director, actress, and choreographer, The Proposal
• Loyal Griggs, Oscar-winning cinematographer
• Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes, film directors, producers, and screenwriters, Menace II Society
• John Hughes, director and writer, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Home Alone
• Jake Kasdan, film and television director, Bad Teacher, Sex Tape
• Lawrence Kasdan, screenwriter and director, The Big Chill, Body Heat, Silverado, Wyatt Earp
• Lee H. Katzin, film and television director, Le Mans
• Woodie King, Jr., stage and film director and producer
• Neil LaBute, film director, screenwriter and playwright, In the Company of Men
• Mitchell Leisen, director, Death Takes a Holiday, Midnight
• Norman Z. McLeod, director, Horse Feathers, Topper, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
• McG, film director, Charlie's Angels, Terminator Salvation
• Michael Moore, Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker and writer
• Robert Moore, director, Murder By Death, Chapter Two
• Jane Murfin, screenwriter, What Price Hollywood?
• Vincenzo Natali, director and screenwriter, Cube
• Joel Potrykus, director and screenwriter, Ape, Buzzard
• Bill Prady, television writer and producer
• Richard Quine, director and producer, Bell, Book and Candle, Sex and the Single Girl
• Sam Raimi, director, screenwriter, producer, Spider-Man, television series '
• Gene Reynolds, Emmy Award-winning director, co-creator of M*A*S*H
• Lloyd Richards, stage director, National Medal of Arts recipient
• Terry Rossio, screenwriter and film producer
• Leonard Schrader, screenwriter, Kiss of the Spider Woman, The Yakuza
• Paul Schrader, director, screenwriter, American Gigolo, Blue Collar, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull
• Robert Shaye, co-CEO of New Line Cinema
• Robert Tapert, producer of The Evil Dead, Timecop,
• Paul Weatherwax, film editor, two-time Academy Award winner
• Harry Winer, film and television director and producer

  Radio and television people

• Byron Allen, comedian, television talk show host
• Tim Allen, actor and comedian, Home Improvement
• Gillian Anderson, actress, The X Files
• Sean Baligian, radio host at WDFN, pre and post game Detroit Lions
• Kristen Bell, actress, Veronica Mars
• Elizabeth Berkley, actress, Saved by the Bell
• Sandra Bernhard, comedian and actress
• Cam Brainard, radio and television announcer, narrator of Breed All About It on Animal Planet
• Selma Blair, actress, Kath & Kim, Anger Management
• Bill Bonds, television journalist, WXYZ-TV
• Dave Campbell, baseball player and broadcaster
• Dave Coulier, actor and stand-up comedian, Full House
• Jeff Daniels, actor, The Newsroom
• Bob Eubanks, host of television game show The Newlywed Game
• Paula Faris, correspondent for ABC News and The View
• Fred Foy, announcer, narrator of The Lone Ranger television series
• Cyndy Garvey, co-host with Regis Philbin on what later became Regis & Kathie Lee, ex-wife of Steve Garvey
• John Gordon, radio voice of Minnesota Twins
• Chris Hansen, television journalist
• Thom Hartmann, radio talk show host, author
• Ernie Harwell, radio broadcaster of Detroit Tigers baseball
• Mario Impemba, television broadcaster of Detroit Tigers baseball
• Art James, quiz show host and announcer
• Jackie Johnson, Los Angeles television meteorologist
• Jana Kramer, actress, One Tree Hill
• Taylor Lautner, actor, Scream Queens
• Casey Kasem, radio personality, host of American Top 40
• James Lipton, host of Bravo cable television series Inside the Actors Studio, writer and poet
• Loni Love, comedian, featured on Chelsea Lately and I Love The '80s
• Bruce Martyn, radio broadcaster of Detroit Red Wings hockey
• Greg Mathis, television judge
• J.P. McCarthy, radio personality, WJR
• Ed McMahon, actor, announcer, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, sidekick to Carson
• Martin Milner, actor, starred in Route 66 and Adam-12 television shows
• George Noory, radio talk show host, Coast to Coast AM
• Carter Oosterhouse, television personality, Trading Spaces
• Jack Paar, television talk show host, The Tonight Show
• Van Patrick, sportscaster for Lions football and Tigers baseball in Detroit
• Arthur Penhallow, radio personality, WRIF
• Dick Purtan, longtime radio personality in Detroit area
• Gilda Radner, comedian and actress, Saturday Night Live
• Rob Rubick, football player and radio-TV commentator
• Tom Selleck, actor, star of 1980s hit TV show Magnum, P.I., producer, National Guard veteran
• Dax Shepard, actor, Parenthood
• Ralph Story, radio and television personality
• Katherine Timpf, television personality, reporter and comedian
• Lily Tomlin, comedian and actress, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
• Toni Trucks actress, Twilight Saga, SEAL Team
• Willie Tyler, comedian and ventriloquist
• Ty Tyson, sportscaster, voice of Detroit Tigers
• Kimberly Paigion Walker, radio and television personality, actress, host of 106 & Park
• Cory Wharton, MTV personality that has been on “The Challenge” and “Teen Mom”
• Ginger Zee, meteorologist for ABC News and Good Morning America

  Reporters, editors, photographers, and broadcasters

• Jim Bellows, newspaper editor, first managing editor of Entertainment Tonight
• Charles Collingwood, CBS television news correspondent
• Candy Crowley, CNN broadcast journalist
• Jill Dobson, Fox News entertainment correspondent
• Dick Enberg, sportscaster
• Joe Falls, sportswriter for Detroit newspapers
• Paula Faris, correspondent for ABC News
• Sara Ganim, correspondent for CNN
• Robin Givhan, fashion editor for the Washington Post
• Wendell Goler, Fox News Senior White House and Foreign Affairs correspondent
• Gael Greene, New York restaurant critic and author
• Sanjay Gupta, chief medical correspondent for CNN
• Jemele Hill, columnist and television personality for ESPN
• Gus Johnson, sportscaster for Fox Sports
• Jim Kaat, MLB Network sportscaster
• Suzanne Malveaux, CNN reporter and White House correspondent
• Miles O'Brien, broadcast news journalist for PBS NewsHour
• Michael Parks, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and editor
• Steve Phillips, former ESPN baseball analyst
• William E. Quinby, 19th-century editor and owner of the Detroit Free Press
• Carl Quintanilla, anchor of the Sunday edition of Today and NBC Nightly News
• Amy Robach, ABC news correspondent
• H.G. Salsinger, sports editor of Detroit News
• Jay Schadler, ABC television news correspondent
• Serena Shim, Lebanese-American journalist for Press TV
• Watson Spoelstra, sportswriter for the Detroit News 1945–73
• Mike Tirico, sportscaster for ESPN, NBC
• Lem Tucker, pioneering African-American two-time Emmy Award-winning news reporter
• David Turnley, photojournalist and 1990 Pulitzer Prize winner
• Taro Yamasaki, photojournalist and 1981 Pulitzer Prize winner

  Other

• Edgar Bergen, ventriloquist and actor
• John Heffron, comedian and winner of NBC's Last Comic Standing
• Jamie Hyneman, special effects expert on MythBusters
• Gregory Jbara, film, television and stage actor
• Connie Kreski, model, Playboy magazine Playmate of the Year 1969
• Loretta Long, "Miss Susan" on PBS's Sesame Street
• Loni Love, comedian
• Bob Murawski, film editor
• Tyler Oakley, YouTuber, activist, and author
• Kristina and Karissa Shannon, twin sister models and Playboy Playmates
• Kate Upton, model and actress, Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue "Rookie of the Year" 2011, cover model 2012

  Architects

• Constance Abernathy, architect, jeweler, and associate of Buckminster Fuller
• Charles N. Agree, builder of Whittier Hotel and Grande Ballroom
• Marcus Burrowes, designer of Herman Strasburg House
• Emily Helen Butterfield, Michigan's first female licensed architect, artist and church architecture innovator
• C. Howard Crane, designer of Detroit's Fox Theater and Olympia Stadium
• John M. Donaldson, 19th-century Detroit architect
• Alden B. Dow, architect and Dow Chemical heir, based in Midland
• Joseph N. French, designer of Detroit's Fisher Building
• Norman Bel Geddes, architectural industrial designer, aviation designer, and theatrical designer best known for the 1939 New York World's Fair pavilion Futurama he designed for General Motors
• Eric J. Hill, University of Michigan professor
• Albert Kahn, architect
• Louis Kamper, designed Cadillac Square Building and Book Cadillac Hotel
• William E. Kapp, designed The Players Club
• Florence Knoll, minimalist architect and furniture designer
• John Lautner, Los Angeles-based architect
• Gordon W. Lloyd, British-born, Detroit-based architect, builder of many churches
• George D. Mason, designer of Detroit Masonic Temple and Detroit Yacht Club
• Charles Willard Moore, architect, leader of the humanistic architecture movement
• S. Kenneth Neumann, designer of One Kennedy Square
• A.B. Pond and Irving Kane Pond, Chicago architects, builders of Hull House
• Ralph Rapson, architect best known for the design of the original Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis
• Harry J. Rill, designed Globe Tobacco Building
• Gino Rossetti, architect whose firm designed Ford Field and The Palace of Auburn Hills
• Matthew L. Rossetti, architect whose firm designed Detroit-area sports stadiums, son of Gino Rossetti
• Wirt C. Rowland, known for Guardian Building and Buhl Building
• Eero Saarinen, industrial designer
• Eliel Saarinen, known for art deco buildings, father of Eero Saarinen
• Victor Saroki, designed Royal Park Hotel
• Ossian Cole Simonds, late 19th-century landscape architect
• Fred L. Smith, architect whose firm designed Comerica Park
• Minoru Yamasaki, architect, known for designing the World Trade Center

  Artists and artisans

Ceramists

• Horace Caulkins, known for Pewabic Pottery used to make architectural tiles
• Tom Lollar, ceramist and professor of fine arts
• Diana Pancioli, ceramist, professor, and author
• Mary Chase Perry Stratton, known for Pewabic Pottery used to make architectural tiles
• Hoon Lee, ceramist and professor

  Fashion designers

• Tracy Reese, fashion designer
• Anna Sui, fashion designer

  Illustrators

• Norman Bel Geddes, theatrical and industrial designer
• Jef Mallett, Wilbur Award-winning cartoonist and triathlete, Frazz

  Painters

• Mathias Alten, impressionist painter
• Frederick Stuart Church, 19th-century painter
• E. Irving Couse, painter and founding member of the Taos artist colony
• Frederick Carl Frieseke, impressionist painter
• Ian Hornak, realist painter
• Chase Langford, contemporary painter
• Hughie Lee-Smith, painter
• Charles McGee, sculptor and painter
• Gari Melchers, naturalism artist
• Ann Mikolowski, painter
• Julius Rolshoven, Santa Fe-based painter
• John Mix Stanley, 19th-century painter and portraitist; co-founder of forerunner to Detroit Institute of Arts
• Kent Twitchell, muralist and painter
• Carol Wald, painter and illustrator
• Kurt Wenner, painter
• Ezra Winter, muralist, born 1886, works include Canterbury Tales mural, Library of Congress John Adams Building, Washington, D.C. and murals in Guardian Building, Detroit

  Photographers

• Talbert Abrams, "father of aerial photography"
• M.J. Alexander, American West photoessayist
• Louis James Pesha, pioneering marine photographer
• Bill Schwab, fine arts photographer
• Irakly Shanidze, advertising, fashion, portrait, fine arts photographer

  Sculptors

• Michele Oka Doner
• Marshall Fredericks
• Julius T. Melchers
• Carl Milles
• Isamu Noguchi
• Corrado Parducci
• Carlo Romanelli
• Edward Wagner

  Astronauts and aviation pioneers

• Dominic A. Antonelli, astronaut
• Michael J. Bloomfield, astronaut
• William Boeing, aviation pioneer, founder of Boeing Company
• Roger B. Chaffee, astronaut
• Edward Heinemann, aircraft designer responsible wholly or in part for 20 major military aircraft, including the A-4 Skyhawk, the F3D Skyknight, and the F4D Skyray
• Augustus Moore Herring, aviation pioneer
• Gregory Jarvis, astronaut and payload specialist; died in the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger
• Brent W. Jett, astronaut
• Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson, aircraft engineer and aeronautical innovator
• Iven Carl Kincheloe, Jr., test pilot pioneer
• David Leestma, astronaut
• Jerry M. Linenger, astronaut
• Charles Lindbergh, pioneer aviator
• Jack R. Lousma, astronaut
• Nancy Harkness Love, World War II pilot, squadron commander and aviation training pioneer
• James McDivitt, astronaut
• Donald R. McMonagle, astronaut and Manager of Launch Integration at the Kennedy Space Center
• Philip Orin Parmelee, aviation pioneer trained by the Wright brothers
• Harriet Quimby, aviation pioneer and first US woman to receive a pilot's license
• Ralph Royce, flew the first US military air operation, oversaw air commands from the 1920s to the 1940s
• Richard A. Searfoss, astronaut
• Brewster H. Shaw, Jr., astronaut
• Alfred V. Verville, aviation pioneer from Atlantic Mine; Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame, 1991 inductee; Pulitzer Trophy Race two-time winner; fellow of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum
• Alfred Worden, astronaut
• Fred Zinn, World War I aviator and aviation reconnaissance pioneer

  Business leaders and inventors

Automotive industry

• Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors
• David Dunbar Buick, founder of Buick Motor Company
• Roy D. Chapin, founder of Hudson Motor Car Company and U.S. Secretary of Commerce
• Roy D. Chapin, Jr., CEO and chairman of American Motors Company
• Louis Chevrolet, founder of Chevrolet motor company
• Harlow Curtice, CEO and President of General Motors and 1955 Time magazine Man of the Year
• William Davidson, CEO of Guardian Industries, philanthropist and chairman of Palace Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Detroit Pistons of the NBA, the Detroit Shock of the WNBA, and the Tampa Bay Lightning of the NHL
• John DeLorean, automobile industry entrepreneur
• Horace Elgin Dodge, automobile manufacturing pioneer
• John Francis Dodge, automobile manufacturing pioneer
• William C. Durant, automobile industry pioneer
• Harley Earl, executive at General Motors, designer of the Corvette
• Pete Estes, president of Pontiac, Chevrolet and General Motors
• Virgil Exner, automotive designer for Studebaker and Chrysler
• Charles T. Fisher, president of Detroit's Fisher Body automotive
• Max M. Fisher, industrialist, philanthropist
• Edsel Ford, auto maker, president of Ford, founder of Mercury autos
• Henry Ford, iconic auto maker, founder of Ford Motor Company
• Henry Ford II, auto maker, president and CEO of Ford
• William Clay Ford, Jr., auto maker and owner of NFL's Detroit Lions
• William Clay Ford, Sr., auto maker, owner of Detroit Lions, chairman of Henry Ford Museum
• Lee Iacocca, CEO of Chrysler Corporation, television spokesman and author
• Semon Knudsen, auto executive, head of Pontiac
• William S. Knudsen, president of General Motors
• Henry M. Leland. machinist, inventor and engineer who founded Cadillac and Lincoln autos
• Walter Lorenzo Marr, first chief engineer of Buick
• Bill Mitchell, created or influenced design of many General Motors models
• Charles Stewart Mott, first American partner of General Motors, also mayor of Flint, Michigan
• John Najjar, auto designer, developed prototype for Ford Mustang
• Charles Williams Nash, auto pioneer, founder of Nash Motors
• Ransom E. Olds, auto manufacturer; founder of Oldsmobile
• Roger Penske, founder of Penske Corporation and the automobile racing team Penske Racing
• Harold Arthur Poling, president, chairman and CEO of Ford Motor Co.
• Irving Jacob Reuter, president of Oldsmobile
• Jack Roush, CEO/owner of Roush Racing NASCAR
• Frederic L. Smith, one of the founders of Oldsmobile and General Motors
• Roger Smith, chairman and CEO of General Motors, subject of documentary Roger & Me
• Preston Tucker, automobile designer, entrepreneur
• Childe Wills, auto pioneer, designer of Ford Model T

  Computers, Internet, and high-tech industries

• Steve Ballmer, former Microsoft CEO ; first person to be worth over a billion dollars based on stock options received as a corporate employee; owner of NBA's Los Angeles Clippers
• Jim Buckmaster, CEO of Craigslist
• Dick Costolo, CEO of Twitter
• Tony Fadell, CEO of Nest Labs, "father of the iPod"
• William Hewlett, co-founder of Hewlett-Packard
• Bill Joy, co-founder of Sun Microsystems and its former chief scientist
• Peter Karmanos Jr., founder of Compuware.
• Michael Kinsley, founding editor of Slate
• Jack McCauley, engineer, inventor and video game developer
• Kevin O'Connor, co-founder and CEO of Doubleclick Internet ad serving software company and advertising network
• Scott McNealy, co-founder of Sun Microsystems
• Larry Page, entrepreneur, co-founder of and former CEO of Google search engine

  Food and food-service industry

• Daniel Gerber, Sr., Gerber Products Company baby food company founder
• Mike Ilitch, owner and founder of Little Caesars Pizza, owner of Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Tigers
• Will Keith Kellogg, founder of Kellogg Company
• Tom Monaghan, founder of Domino's Pizza, former owner of Detroit Tigers
• David M. Overton, founder and CEO of the Cheesecake Factory, Inc.
• C. W. Post, founder of Post Cereals, inventor of Grape-Nuts
• James Vernor, founder of Vernor's Company and creator of Vernor's Ginger Ale
• Hiram Walker, founder of Hiram Walker & Sons distillery

  Furniture

• Art Van Elslander, founder of Art Van Furniture from 1959 to present
• D. J. DePree, founder of Herman Miller office equipment company
• Max DePree, CEO of Herman Miller office equipment company from 1980–1987

  Other business

• Sewell Avery, chairman of U.S. Gypsum 1905–36, Montgomery Ward
• James Anthony Bailey, circus showman, co-founder of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus
• Don Barden, cable company pioneer and casino investor
• Andrew "Andy" Beal, businessman, banking and real estate, founder and chairman of Beal Bank
• George Gough Booth, publisher
• Walter Briggs Sr., manufacturer, Detroit Tigers owner 1919–52
• John W. Brown, CEO of Stryker Corporation from 1977–2004
• Joseph Bruce, co-founder of Psychopathic Records, hip-hop singer and professional wrestler
• Leo Burnett, advertising firm founder
• Wellington R. Burt, lumberman, industrialist, politician
• Irving T. Bush, business leader, funded Bush House in London and Bush Terminal in Brooklyn
• Michael Cohrs, member of the board of Deutsche Bank
• William Davidson, glass industry mogul, former owner of Detroit Pistons
• Richard DeVos, founder of Alticor and former president of Amway
• Herbert Henry Dow, inventor and one of the founders of the US chemical industry
• John Fetzer, owner of Michigan radio and television companies and Detroit Tigers
• Orville Gibson, founder of Gibson Guitar Corporation
• Daniel Gilbert, financier founder of online mortgage company Quicken Loans, owner of NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers
• Arnold Gingrich, founder of Esquire magazine
• Berry Gordy, Jr., founder of Motown Records
• Joseph Lowthian Hudson, founder of Hudson's department store
• Fred Knorr, radio executive, Detroit Tigers part-owner 1956–60
• Sebastian S. Kresge, founder of K-Mart
• Louis K. Liggett, founder of Rexall drug store chain
• Jerome D. Mack, president of Las Vegas hotels the Riviera and Dunes, founder of UNLV
• Alexander Macomb, early 19th-century merchant and land owner
• William Macomb, 18th-century merchant and land owner
• Alex Manoogian, inventor, founder of Masco, philanthropist
• Harold Matson, literary agent, founder of the Harold Matson Company
• Orville D. Merillat, founder of Merillat Kitchens, later Merillat Industries
• Richard Merillat, entrepreneur, former CEO of Merillat Industries and philanthropist
• Harry Mohney, founder of Deja Vu Showgirls
• Frank Navin, owner of Detroit Tigers 1908–35
• Edgar Prince, founder of the Prince Corporation
• Erik Prince, founder and owner of Xe Services, formerly Blackwater Worldwide
• Stephen M. Ross, founder and CEO of The Related Companies real estate firm, helped establish Ross School of Business at University of Michigan which bears his name, 95% owner of Miami Dolphins
• William Shell, physician and co-founder of Targeted Medical Pharma, Inc.
• Frank Stanton, early television executive, president of CBS from 1946–1972
• Wilbur F. Storey, 19th-century publisher and owner of the Detroit Free Press, other newspapers
• Homer Stryker, M.D., inventor of mobile hospital bed; founder of orthopedic implant and medical product maker Stryker Corporation
• Jon Lloyd Stryker, architect of Stryker Corp.; founder of Arcus Foundation for gay/lesbian issues and ape conservation
• Pat Stryker, co-owner of the Stryker Corp.
• William E. Upjohn, founder of The Upjohn Company
• Frederick Upton, Senior Vice President of Whirlpool Corporation
• Louis Upton, founder of Whirlpool Corporation
• Joseph Utsler, co-founder of Psychopathic Records and hip-hop singer
• Jay Van Andel, co-founder of Alticor and Amway
• Brad Wardell, President and CEO of Stardock software and computer game company
• Garfield Wood, inventor, boat builder, hydroplane and motorboat pioneer
• Samuel Zell, real estate investor, publisher, philanthropist

  Cartoonists, illustrators, and animators

• Glenn Barr, artist for DC Comics and the Ren And Stimpy animated television series
• Jim Benton, cartoonist and author
• T. Casey Brennan, comic book author for Vampirella, Creepy and Eerie
• J. Scott Campbell, co-founder of the Cliffhanger imprint of Wildstorm Productions co-creator of Danger Girl and Gen¹³
• Dave Coverly, syndicated cartoonist, Speed Bump comic strip
• Dave Dorman, science-fiction and fantasy illustrator and animationist
• Bill Freyse, cartoonist known for Our Boarding House
• David S. Goyer, comic book writer and filmmaker, authored many issues of Justice Society of America and comic-based films including and Blade; co-wrote Batman Begins
• Cathy Lee Guisewite, creator of Cathy comic strip
• Butch Hartman, animator, producer, director for Fairly Odd Parents
• Ed Emshwiller, animator, visual artist, and founder of CalArts Computer Animation Lab
• Al Jean, creator of The Critic, writer for The Simpsons and Family Guy
• Geoff Johns, comic book writer, known primarily for his work with DC Comics
• Vincent Locke, comic book illustrator, best known for his work on Deadworld and A History of Violence
• Mike Manley, one of the main illustrators of DC Comics's Batman and co-creator of Marvel Comics's Darkhawk
• Winsor McCay, pioneer film animator and artist of comic strip Little Nemo in Slumberland
• William Messner-Loebs, comic book writer and artist
• Dan Mishkin, comic book writer, co-creator of Amethyst, Princess of Gem World and Blue Devil
• Bill Morrison, cartoonist and illustrator; editor, principal writer and artist for Bongo Comics Group overseeing the Simpsons comic book family; director of Futurama
• James O'Barr, creator of the comic book series The Crow
• Gary Reed, comic book writer and publisher of Caliber Comics
• Jim Starlin, Marvel Comics illustrator and writer
• John Henry Striebel, 20th-century comic strip pioneer
• Haddon Sundblom, commercial illustrator and artist; created Coca-Cola Santa
• Craig Thompson, cartoonist and graphic novelist best known for Blankets
• Jerry Van Amerongen, comic strip writer best known for his syndicated comic panel The Neighborhood
• Sam Viviano, caricature artist and art director best known for his work in Mad magazine
• Larry Wright, two-time winner of the National Cartoonist Society Editorial Cartoon Award and creator of the comic strips Wright Angles, Motley, and Kit 'N' Carlyle

  Civil rights and suffrage leaders and abolitionists

• Irene Osgood Andrews, woman's rights advocate best known for her writings on the problems of women in industry
• Leonard Baker, abolitionist, American Congregational minister
• Olympia Brown, women's suffrage leader
• Pearl M. Hart, civil rights advocate and lawyer, activist for gay rights and the rights of immigrants
• Erastus Hussey, abolitionist and leading Underground Railroad stationmaster
• Viola Liuzzo, 1960s white civil rights advocate who was murdered by the Ku Klux Klan
• Malcolm X, civil rights leader
• Katharine Dexter McCormick, biologist, woman suffrage leader & philanthropist
• Rosa Parks, civil rights activist
• Lawrence Plamondon, cofounder of the White Panther Party, activist, and first hippie to be on the FBI's Most Wanted List
• Anna Howard Shaw, leader in the women's suffrage movement
• Sojourner Truth, abolitionist
• Jonathan Walker, abolitionist and subject of John Greenleaf Whittier's poem "Man with the Branded Hand"

  Infamous Michiganders

• Jim Bakker, scandal-ridden televangelist
• Abe Bernstein, Prohibition-era gangster
• Ivan Boesky, inside trader
• Tony Chebatoris, murderer, bank robber and the only person executed for a crime in Michigan's history
• Caryl Chessman, convicted robber and rapist who gained fame as a death row inmate
• John Norman Collins, "co-ed killer"
• Charles Coughlin, anti-Semitic, pro-Hitler priest
• Hawley Harvey Crippen, murderer
• Leon Czolgosz, assassin of President William McKinley
• Sile Doty, burglar, horse thief
• May Dugas de Pallandt van Eerde, notorious conwoman, raised in Menominee
• Andrew Kehoe, Bath School disaster bomber
• Jack Kevorkian, physician infamous for assisted suicides
• Kwame Kilpatrick, incarcerated former Detroit mayor
• John List, mass murderer
• John Mitchell, conspiratorial Attorney General during Watergate under President Richard Nixon
• Terry Nichols, Oklahoma City bombing co-conspirator
• The Purple Gang, 1920s organized crime group in Detroit
• Reed Slatkin, perpetrator of the largest Ponzi scheme in the United States since that conducted by Ponzi himself
• Eddie Slovik, last U.S. soldier executed for desertion
• Carolyn Warmus, murderer whose murder case led to comparisons to Fatal Attraction
• Aileen Wuornos, murderer made famous as the subject of the 2003 film Monster starring Charlize Theron

  Inventors

• Thomas Edison, inventor, entrepreneur
• Robert Jarvik, medical inventor
• Elijah McCoy, steam engine lubricator inventor; origin of the phrase "the real McCoy"
• Sid Meier, "father of computer gaming," created the computer game Civilization and others
• Ephraim Shay, inventor of the Shay locomotive

  Labor leaders

• Leon E. Bates, labor leader
• Owen Bieber, labor leader
• Frank Fitzsimmons, labor leader
• Douglas A. Fraser, labor leader
• James P. Hoffa, labor leader
• James R. Hoffa, labor leader
• Joseph Labadie, labor leader, political activist
• Walter Reuther, labor leader
• Leonard Woodcock, labor leader

  Military figures

• Christopher C. Augur, commanding officer of Union Army XXII Corps at Battle of Plains Store in Civil War
• Remi A. Balduck, World War II naval hero
• Frank Dwight Baldwin, Major General in U.S. Army, twice awarded Medal of Honor; served in Civil War, Indian Wars, Spanish–American War and Philippine–American War
• Harry Hill Bandholtz, U.S. Brigadier General in World War I, head of US Military Mission to Hungary
• Joseph Beyrle, only soldier to have served in both US Army and Soviet Army in World War II
• Ronald A. Burdo, World War II U.S. Marine hero for whom high speed transport USS Burdo was named
• George H. Cannon, first U.S. Marine to receive Medal of Honor in World War II
• Lewis Cass, Secretary of War, Secretary of State, Brigadier General in War of 1812, 1848 Democratic Party presidential nominee, governor of Michigan Territory
• William R. Charette, Korean War U.S. Navy hospital corpsman who selected Unknown Soldier of World War II
• Ferdinand J. Chesarek, U.S. Army General who served as Comptroller of the Army
• John G. Coburn, Four-star general, Commander U.S. Army Materiel Command
• George Armstrong Custer, U.S. General, born in New Rumley, Ohio; moved to Monroe)
• Hugh A. Drum, US General who fought in Philippine–American War and World War I, later Chief of Staff of First United States Army, AEF
• Sarah Emma Edmundson, Union spy and soldier
• Daniel Ellsberg, military analyst, known for releasing Pentagon Papers
• Anna Etheridge, Civil War nurse enlisted with Michigan 2nd Infantry; active in nearly every major battle; awarded Kearney Cross for bravery at Battle of Chancellorsville
• Elon J. Farnsworth, Union Army Cavalry General in Civil War, killed at Battle of Gettysburg
• Aubrey Fitch, U.S. Navy admiral
• Douglas Harold Fox, World War II naval hero killed at Guadalcanal
• Ben Hebard Fuller, Commandant of the Marine Corps
• Duane D. Hackney, Vietnam War U.S. Air Force hero
• Francis P. Hammerberg, United States Navy diver who was awarded Medal of Honor
• Henry Moore Harrington, officer in the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment who died with George Armstrong Custer at Battle of Little Big Horn
• Micki King, Air Force colonel and Olympic gold-medalist diver
• Frank Knox, Secretary of the Navy under Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1936 Republican Vice Presidential candidate and newspaper owner
• William S. Knudsen, U.S. Army general during World War II, General Motors president
• Aleda E. Lutz, Army flight nurse during World War II, second-most decorated woman in American military history
• Alexander Macomb, commanding general of the United States Army from 1828–1841
• Montgomery M. Macomb, brigadier general
• William H. Macomb, commander in U.S. Navy during Civil War
• Robert Neller, Commandant of the Marine Corps
• James Joseph Raby, Rear Admiral, USN
• Karl W. Richter, youngest pilot in Vietnam War to shoot down MiG in air-to-air combat, winner of Air Force Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross, and Purple Heart
• Dean Rockwell, D-Day hero, coach of Greco-Roman wrestling team at 1964 Summer Olympics and Albion College football coach
• Frederick C. Sherman, World War II U.S. Navy admiral
• Oliver Sipple, marine who saved President Gerald Ford's life during a 1975 assassination attempt
• Willard J. Smith, United States Coast Guard Commandant
• Carl W. Weiss, World War II U.S. Marine Corps hero who was killed in action at Guadalcanal
• Donald W. Wolf, World War II U.S. Marine Corps hero who was killed in action at Guadalcanal

  Musicians and composers

Classical

• Joseph Alessi, trombonist
• Robert Ashley, opera composer
• Theodore Baskin, principal oboist of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra
• William Bolcom, Grammy and Pulitzer Prize-winning pianist and composer
• David DiChiera, director of the Detroit Opera House's Michigan Opera Theatre
• Maria Ewing, operatic soprano
• John S. Hilliard, composer
• Angela Jia Kim, pianist
• Robert Longfield, composer
• David Ott, composer
• Elizabeth Parcells, operatic soprano
• Roger Reynolds, composer, Pulitzer Prize winner
• Leo Sowerby, organist, composer, Pulitzer Prize winner
• Thomas Schippers, conductor of the Metropolitan Opera and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
• George Shirley, tenor, National Medal of Arts recipient
• Joseph Silverstein, violinist and concertmaster of Boston Symphony Orchestra
• Cheryl Studer, dramatic soprano
• David Weber, clarinetist

  Jazz and blues

• Pepper Adams, jazz baritone saxophonist
• Geri Allen, jazz pianist
• Dorothy Ashby, jazz harpist
• Anita Baker, jazz and R&B singer
• Marcus Belgrave, jazz trumpeter
• The Bluescasters, blues group
• Kenny Burrell, jazz guitarist
• Donald Byrd, jazz trumpeter
• Betty Carter, Grammy Award-winning jazz vocalist
• Regina Carter, jazz violinist
• James Carter, jazz woodwind player
• Ron Carter, jazz bassist and member of the Miles Davis Quintet
• Bob Chester, jazz saxophonist and big band leader
• Alice Coltrane, jazz keyboardist, harpist and composer
• Xavier Davis, jazz pianist
• Clare Fischer, jazz, bossa nova, and Afro-Cuban jazz keyboardist, composer, and bandleader
• Tommy Flanagan, jazz pianist best known as Ella Fitzgerald's accompanist
• Kenny Garrett, jazz saxophonist
• Barry Harris, bebop jazz pianist and educator
• Joe Henderson, jazz saxophonist
• Milt Jackson, jazz vibraphonist
• Elvin Jones, jazz drummer of the hard bop era, part of John Coltrane's quartet
• Hank Jones, jazz pianist, National Medal of Arts recipient
• Thad Jones, jazz trumpeter
• Isham Jones, 1920s bandleader, violinist, saxophonist and songwriter
• Thad Jones, jazz trumpeter
• Earl Klugh, Grammy Award-winning jazz guitarist
• Yusef Lateef, jazz saxophonist and flutist
• Father Norman O'Connor, priest, jazz aficionado, writer, radio and television host
• Sy Oliver, trumpeter and bandleader
• Dave Pike, jazz vibraphonist
• Dianne Reeves, jazz vocalist and only person to have won the Grammy Award for "Best Jazz Vocal Performance" three times in a row
• Frank Rosolino, jazz trombonist
• Sonny Stitt, jazz saxophonist
• Art Van Damme, jazz accordionist
• Sippie Wallace, blues singer
• Rudy Weidoeft, jazz saxophonist

  Motown, R&B, and soul music

• Florence Ballard, Motown era singer, original lead singer of The Supremes, inductee Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• Lamont Dozier, Motown era composer, member of Holland-Dozier-Holland
• Dwele, soul singer, songwriter and record producer
• The Four Tops, Motown era group with two No. 1 hits, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• Aretha Franklin, singer, "The Queen of Soul", Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• Matt Giraud, piano player, drummer, R&B, soul & blues singer; American Idol top 5, season 8
• Al Green, soul & gospel singer and pastor, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• Brian Holland, Motown era composer, member of Holland-Dozier-Holland
• Edward Holland, Jr., Motown era composer, member of Holland-Dozier-Holland
• Adina Howard, R&B singer
• Mable John, first female singer to sign with Berry Gordy
• The Jones Girls, R&B trio
• LaKisha Jones, contestant on American Idol
• Jr. Walker & the All-Stars, Motown era group whose song "Shotgun" was a No. 1 hit
• Kem, R&B and soul singer
• Bettye LaVette, soul singer
• Barbara Lewis, singer known for hits "Baby I'm Yours" and "Hello Stranger"
• The Marvelettes, Motown era group whose "Please Mr. Postman" was a No. 1 hit
• Freda Payne, Motown era singer known for "Band of Gold"
• Martha Reeves, lead singer of Motown group Martha and the Vandellas, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• Smokey Robinson, Motown era singer, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• Diana Ross, lead singer of The Supremes and solo artist, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• The Spinners, R&B group whose hits included "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love"
• The Temptations, Motown group, three Grammy awards with 14 No. 1 hits, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• Edwin Starr, soul music singer, best known for his anti-war No. 1 hit "War"
• Mary Wells, Motown era singer best known for her No. 1 hit song "My Guy"
• Kim Weston, Motown and R&B singer
• Jackie Wilson, R&B singer, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• BeBe Winans, R&B and gospel singer
• Stevie Wonder, singer, musician, songwriter and winner of 24 Grammy awards, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• Philippe Wynne, R&B and gospel singer

  Rock, rap, and pop

• Aaliyah, singer and actress
• Maurice Ager, producer
• Laith Al-Saadi, musician, singer/songwriter, and contestant from NBC's The Voice season 10
• Gregg Alexander, singer and songwriter
• Anybody Killa, rapper
• Hank Ballard, early rock musician best known for "The Twist"
• Andrew Bazzi, singer, songwriter
• Big Sean, rapper
• Danny Brown, rapper
• The Black Dahlia Murder, melodic death metal/metalcore band
• Blaze Ya Dead Homie, rapper
• Bliss 66, pop band
• Sonny Bono, singer, songwriter, record producer and politician
• Kellin Quinn Bostwick, lead singer of Sleeping with Sirens
• Donald Brewer, drummer for Grand Funk Railroad
• Shana Cleveland, guitarist and vocalist
• Alice Cooper, musician, 2011 inductee in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• Marshall Crenshaw, musician
• Eminem, rapper
• Esham, rapper
• Every Avenue, pop band
• Factory 81, rock band
• Mark Farner, lead singer of Grand Funk Railroad
• Fireworks, pop-punk band
• Doug Fieger, lead singer of The Knack and co-writer of "My Sharona"
• Glenn Frey, founding member of The Eagles, 2008 inductee in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• Craig Frost, keyboardist
• James Gurley, rock guitarist
• J Dilla, hip hop producer
• Bill Haley, 1950s musician, 1987 inductee in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• Mayer Hawthorne, singer, producer, songwriter, DJ, rapper and multi-instrumentalist
• Insane Clown Posse, hip hop group
• I See Stars, electronicore band
• Billy Jones, lead guitarist, singer, songwriter for The Outlaws
• Maynard James Keenan, frontman of Tool and A Perfect Circle
• Anthony Kiedis, lead singer, Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Kid Rock, musician
• Wayne Kramer, guitarist
• Madonna, singer, inductee in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• MC5, protopunk band
• Guy Mitchell, pop singer known for "Singing the Blues", "Heartaches by the Number"
• Natas, hip hop group
• Jason Newsted, bassist for Metallica
• NF, hip-hop/rapper
• Matt Noveskey, bassist for Blue October
• Ted Nugent, musician, activist
• Craig Owens, vocalist of the band Chiodos
• Daniel Passino, musician, contemporary R&B and pop singer-songwriter; contestant from NBC's The Voice season 10
• Britta Phillips, singer, songwriter
• Pop Evil, rock band
• Iggy Pop, rock musician, 2010 inductee in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• Mike Posner, musician, synthpop and electropop singer-songwriter
• Suzi Quatro, singer, bassist, and actress
• Question Mark & the Mysterians, rock band
• The Romantics, new wave rock band
• Royce da 5'9", rapper
• DeJ Loaf, rapper
• Mitch Ryder, rock musician known for "Devil with a Blue Dress On"
• Bob Schneider, Texas-based rock musician
• Bob Seger, singer, 2004 inductee in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• Bob Gentry, singer, songwriter
• Del Shannon, singer, 1999 inductee in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• Chad Smith, drummer, Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Sponge, post-grunge band
• Still Remains, metalcore band
• The Stooges, rock band, 2010 inductees in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• Taproot, nu metal band
• Thought Industry, progressive metal band
• Twiztid, hip hop group
• Uncle Kracker, rock musician
• Greta Van Fleet, rock band
• The Verve Pipe, post-grunge band
• The Von Bondies, indie rock/alternative band
• Narada Michael Walden, multi-platinum record producer and songwriter
• Malaya Watson, American Idol contestant
• Wayne Static, singer for Static-x
• We Came as Romans, melodic metal core band
• Jack White, singer and songwriter
• The White Stripes, minimalist blues-rock duo
• Joyce Vincent Wilson, singer with Tony Orlando and Dawn
• Andrew W.K., metal/hard rock composer
• D'arcy Wretzky, bass player for The Smashing Pumpkins

  Other musicians

• The Accidentals, alternative-rock band
• Roy Bargy, musician, composer, Jimmy Durante bandleader
• Muruga Booker, drummer
• Ralston Bowles, folk musician, singer/songwriter
• William David Brohn, Tony Award-winning orchestrator and arranger
• Hughie Cannon, songwriter, "Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey"
• Erika Costell, YouTuber, model, and singer
• Johnny Desmond, big-band singer and recording artist
• Justin Hicks, hip-hop musician
• Harlan Howard, songwriter in Country Music Hall of Fame
• Marion Hutton, singer with Glenn Miller orchestra
• Herb Jeffries, singer
• Mary Kaye, guitarist
• Bernie Krause, pioneer in Moog synthesizers and folk singer with The Weavers
• Joseph LoDuca, film score composer
• John Lowery, guitarist, a.k.a. John5, former member of Marilyn Manson
• Stephen Lynch, comic musician
• Geoff Moore, Christian contemporary music Grammy-winning singer and songwriter
• Carrie Newcomer, folk musician
• Karen Newman, singer and anthem voice of Detroit Red Wings hockey
• Zeena Parkins, avant garde harpist
• Rodriguez, singer, songwriter, subject of film Searching for Sugar Man
• Sycamore Smith, folk singer
• Tom Smith, filker, folk musician
• Noel Stookey, "Paul" of Peter, Paul and Mary folk group
• Sufjan Stevens, folk musician
• Bob Vincent, big-band singer
• Margaret Whiting, singer and recording artist
• CeCe Winans, gospel singer
• Vickie Winans, gospel singer
• George Winston, Grammy Award-winning new age pianist
• Margaret Young, singer

  Native-American leaders

• Andrew Blackbird, Ottawa leader, historian and negotiator in Treaty of 1855
• Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish, Potawatomi chief
• Mecosta, Potawatomi chief, for whom Mecosta County is named
• John Okemos, Ojibwa chief, for whom the city of Okemos is named, signer of Treaty of Saginaw
• Simon Pokagon, Potawatomi chief, from whom Western Michigan's Pokagon Potawatomi take their name
• Pontiac, Native American chief and war leader
• Shavehead, Potawatomi chief and warrior
• Shaw-shaw-way-nay-beece, Ojibwa chief and signer of Treaty of 1855
• Wawatam, Ojibwa chief at Michilimackinac
• Wosso, chief of Shiawassee band of Ojibwa and signer of Treaty of Saginaw

  Political figures

National political figures

• Spencer Abraham, U.S. Senator 1995–2001 and United States Secretary of Energy 2001–05
• Henry B. Brown, US Supreme Court Justice from 1891–1906 and author for court opinion in Plessy v. Ferguson
• Jesse Brown, U.S. Secretary of Veterans' Affairs under President Bill Clinton
• Wilber M. Brucker, United States Secretary of the Army 1955–61 and Governor of Michigan 1931–33
• Dr. Ben Carson, United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, retired neurosurgeon, 2016 presidential candidate
• Roy D. Chapin, Sr., United States Secretary of Commerce under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
• Betsy DeVos, U.S Secretary of Education under President Donald Trump
• Donald M. Dickinson, U.S. Postmaster General of 19th Century
• Betty Ford, First Lady of the United States 1974–77; advocate of breast cancer early detection and chemical dependency treatment
• Gerald R. Ford, U.S. Representative and 38th President of the United States
• Reed E. Hundt, Federal Communications Commission Chairman under President Bill Clinton
• Herbert W. Kalmbach, attorney to President Richard Nixon
• Robert McClelland, Governor of Michigan from 1852–1853 and US Secretary of the Interior under President James Buchanan
• John N. Mitchell, U.S. Attorney General under President Richard Nixon 1969–72
• Cecilia Muñoz, White House Director of Intergovernmental Affairs under President Barack Obama
• Frank Murphy, Detroit mayor, Michigan governor, last Governor-General of Philippines and first High Commissioner of Philippines, United States Attorney General and Supreme Court Justice
• Tom Price, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Donald Trump
• Ann Romney, former First Lady of Massachusetts
• George W. Romney, Governor of Michigan 1963–69, chairman of American Motors, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
• Mitt Romney, Governor of Massachusetts, 1994 nominee for U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, and 2012 Republican nominee for President
• Rodney E. Slater, U.S. Secretary of Transportation under President Bill Clinton
• Margaret Spellings, United States Secretary of Education under President George W. Bush, co-author of No Child Left Behind Act
• Gene Sperling, Director of National Economic Council under President Bill Clinton and Barack Obama
• Potter Stewart, U.S. Supreme Court justice
• Arthur Summerfield, United States Postmaster General 1953–61
• Edwin F. Uhl, Mayor of Grand Rapids, Ambassador to Germany, and Assistant Secretary of State, and for 13 days in 1895 was acting U.S. Secretary of State

  Michigan political figures

• Russell A. Alger, Governor of Michigan 1902–07, U.S. Senator, Secretary of War during Spanish–American War
• Dennis Archer, Mayor of Detroit 1994–2001
• Dave Bing, Mayor of Detroit 2009–2013
• Austin Blair, anti-slavery governor of Michigan
• James Blanchard, Governor of Michigan 1983–91, Ambassador to Canada
• Prentiss M. Brown, U.S. Senator, chairman of Detroit Edison Company and Mackinac Bridge Authority
• Jerome Cavanagh, Mayor of Detroit 1962–70
• John Conyers, second longest-serving member of U.S. House of Representatives
• Debbie Dingell, U.S. Representative
• John Dingell, longest-serving member of U.S. House of Representatives
• John Engler, three-term Governor of Michigan
• Paul G. Goebel, two-term Mayor of Grand Rapids
• Jennifer Granholm, 47th Governor of Michigan
• Roman Gribbs, Mayor of Detroit 1970–74
• Alexander Groesbeck, 30th Governor of Michigan
• Ebenezer O. Grosvenor, 14th Lieutenant Governor and state treasurer
• Philip A. Hart, U.S. Senator
• Carl Levin, U.S. Senator 1979–2015
• T. John Lesinski, Michigan Lieutenant Governor and judge
• Sander M. Levin, U.S. Congressman
• Oscar Marx, Mayor of Detroit 1913–18
• Louis Miriani, Mayor of Detroit 1957–62
• Russell C. Ostrander, Mayor of Lansing and Chief Justice of state Supreme Court
• Hazen S. Pingree, Mayor of Detroit 1890–97
• Charles E. Potter, U.S. Senator 1952–59
• Donald W. Riegle, Jr., U.S. Senator 1976–95
• Dorothy Comstock Riley, Michigan Supreme Court judge, first Hispanic woman elected to Supreme Court of any state
• Lenore Romney, former First Lady of Michigan, 1970 U.S. Senate candidate
• Solomon Sibley, first Mayor of Detroit
• Debbie Stabenow, U.S. Senator
• Arthur H. Vandenberg, U.S. Senator
• George W. Welsh, Mayor of Grand Rapids 1938–49 and Lieutenant Governor
• G. Mennen Williams, 41st Governor of Michigan
• Howard Wolpe, U.S. Congressman, Special Envoy to Great Lakes Region of Africa, Director of Africa Program at Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
• Coleman Young, Mayor of Detroit 1974–94

  Other political figures

• Allen Alley, Chairman of Oregon Republican Party
• Arthur Brown, U.S. Senator from Utah
• Jane L. Campbell, Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio 2002–06
• Amanda Carpenter, political adviser and speechwriter for Sen. Jim DeMint
• Laurie Perry Cookingham, City Manager of Kansas City, Missouri for 19 years, tenure longer than any U.S. city manager
• Dr. Royal S. Copeland, U.S. Senator from New York
• Rennie Davis, prominent anti-Vietnam War protest leader of 1960s
• Thomas Dewey, Governor of New York, lost presidential race in 1944 and 1948
• Frank Emerson, 15th Governor of Wyoming
• Michael Fougere, Mayor of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
• Elisha Peyre Ferry, first Governor of Washington Territory and Civil War colonel
• Obadiah Gardner, US Senator for Maine
• Tom Hayden, social and political activist, politician
• Clyde L. Herring, 26th Governor of Iowa and U.S. Senator
• William J. McConnell, third Governor of Idaho
• William E. Quinby, U.S. Ambassador to tNetherlands
• Henry Hastings Sibley, first Governor of Minnesota
• John Sinclair, political activist, writer, musician
• Jan Ting, unsuccessful 2006 U.S. Senate candidate for Delaware

  Religious leaders

• Frederic Baraga, Roman Catholic missionary, bishop and Ojibway and Ottawa grammarian
• D. M. Canright, early leader of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
• D. Stanley Coors, American bishop of the Methodist Church
• Daniel Dolan, Traditional Catholic bishop
• Walter Elliott, 19th-century Roman Catholic priest whose writing sparked the Americanism heresy
• Lucien Greaves, social activist; spokesman and co-founder of The Satanic Temple
• Virginia Harris, publisher of the writings of Mary Baker Eddy; President and founding trustee of the Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment of Humanity; Chair of the Christian Science Board of Directors, 1990–2004
• James Aloysius Hickey, Cardinal and Roman Catholic Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Washington
• John C. Maxwell, evangelical Christian author, speaker, and pastor
• Bruce R. McConkie, prominent Apostle and theologian of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• Josh McDowell, leading Evangelical Christian apologist and author
• Jason Miller, rabbi and entrepreneur
• Warith Deen Mohammed, son of Elijah Muhammad, leader of American Society of Muslims
• Wallace Fard Muhammad, founder of Nation of Islam
• Thomas Gumbleton, Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop
• Henry Churchill King, theologian, president of Oberlin College and member of the King-Crane Commission on the status of Palestine
• Baba Rexheb, Moslem leader and mystic, founder of the Bektashi Sufi lodge in Taylor
• Edmund Szoka, President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State
• John A. Trese, priest of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit
• Allen Henry Vigneron, Roman Catholic Bishop of Oakland in California
• Geerhardus Vos, theologian known as the "Father of Reformed Biblical Theology"
• Ellen G. White, founding member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
• James Springer White, founding member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
• Rabbi Sherwin Wine, founder of the Society for Humanistic Judaism

  Scholars

Art historians

• Alfred Barr, art historian and the founding director of the Museum of Modern Art
• Louis A. Waldman, art historian

  Economists, mathematicians, and social scientists

• Henry Carter Adams, economist
• Akhil Reed Amar, legal scholar, an expert on constitutional law and criminal procedure
• Earl Babbie, sociologist
• Bruce Bartlett, economist, advisor to presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush
• Edward Griffith Begle, mathematician specializing topology, director of the School Mathematics Study Group
• George David Birkhoff, mathematician best known for the ergodic theorem
• Robert John Braidwood, archaeologist and anthropologist
• Napoleon Chagnon, anthropologist
• Charles Cooley, sociologist, known for his concept of the looking glass self
• Samuel J. Eldersveld, political scientist, mayor of Ann Arbor, department chair at University of Michigan
• Carol Karp, mathematician and leader in the theory of infinitary logic )
• Alfred V. Kidder, archaeologist
• Leslie Kish, sociologist and statistician, pioneer in survey sampling methodology, professor at University of Michigan
• Eduard Lindeman, educational pioneer
• Tom Morey, mathematician, aerospace engineer, musician and surfing analyst
• Walter Pitts, logician who worked in the field of cognitive psychology
• Wardell Pomeroy, psychologist known for his work on sexual behavior
• Michael Porter, economist and author
• Paul Rehak, archaeologist
• Jeff Sachs, economist, economic adviser to nations, author, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University
• Claude E. Shannon, "father of information theory and of digital computer circuit design"
• Robert Shiller, economist, academic, author
• Nate Silver, statistician, psephologist, and writer
• Isadore Singer, mathematician
• Theda Skocpol, sociologist and political scientist
• Stephen Smale, Fields Medal-winning mathematician
• Gene Sperling, economist, political expert, Counselor to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner
• Kenneth Waltz, prominent international relations theorist
• Brian Wesbury, economist
• Leslie White, anthropologist and major advocate of neoevolutionism

  Historians

• Ray Stannard Baker, historian and biographer of President Woodrow Wilson
• Charles Bigelow, print historian, font designer, MacArthur Foundation Award winner
• Bruce Catton, historian of the US Civil War
• John D'Arms, history of ancient Rome
• Natalie Zemon Davis, historian and feminist, pioneered the "new social history," author of The Return of Martin Guerre
• Samuel J. Eldersveld, political scientist at the University of Michigan; former mayor of Ann Arbor

  Natural scientists and engineers

• Charles Bachman, computer scientist
• Werner Emmanuel Bachmann, biochemistry pioneer in steroid synthesis who carried out the first total synthesis of a steroidal hormone, equilenin
• Liberty Hyde Bailey, botanist
• Bob Bemer, computer scientist
• J Harlen Bretz, geologist
• Lyman James Briggs, engineer, physicist, headed the Briggs Advisory Committee on Uranium
• Robert L. Carroll, paleontologist
• Douglas Houghton Campbell, botanist
• Kazimierz Fajans, chemist
• David Fairchild, botanist
• Robert M. Graham, computer scientist, contributed to Multics
• Michael Hendricks, psychologist, suicidologist, and an advocate for the LGBT community
• Alfred Hershey, Nobel Prize-winning bacteriologist
• Robert E. Horton, "father of hydrology, ecologist and soil scientist
• Nicholas Hotton III, paleontologist
• Douglass Houghton, first State Geologist of Michigan, explorer of Keweenaw County
• John H. Hubbell, radiation physicist
• Edward Israel, astronomer and polar explorer
• Ernest Kirkendall, chemist and metallurgist
• William LeMessurier, structural engineer
• Forest Ray Moulton, astronomer
• Jonas Salk, Head of Epidemiology at the University of Michigan
• Glenn T. Seaborg, chemist, Nobel prize winner
• Werner Spitz, forensic pathologist, emigrated from Israel to St. Clair Shores, MI
• Samuel C. C. Ting, Nobel Prize-winning physicist
• James Craig Watson, astronomer
• Thomas Huckle Weller, virologist and Nobel Prize winner in medicine

  Philosophers

• Brand Blanshard, Yale University rationalist philosopher
• Voltairine de Cleyre, anarchist philosopher and political activist
• William A. Earle, Northwestern University philosopher of existentialism and phenomenology
• Gary Habermas, historian, New Testament scholar, and philosopher of religion
• Reinhold Niebuhr, political philosopher and theologian
• Alvin Plantinga, philosopher of religion
• Wilfrid Sellars, philosopher

  Other scholars and researchers

• Benjamin Franklin Bailey, electrical engineer, professor and researcher
• Ellen Dannin, Penn State law professor, expert in labor law of New Zealand and U.S.
• Richard Ellmann, literary critic and biographer
• H. Wiley Hitchcock, musicologist director for Institute for Studies in American Music, co-author of New Grove Dictionary of American Music
• Emmett Leith, electrical engineering professor and inventor of three-dimensional holography
• Larry Soderquist, corporate and securities law expert, novelist, Vanderbilt professor

  Sports figures

Writers

Others

• Huwaida Arraf, co-founder of International Solidarity Movement, a pro-Palestinian organization
• Todd Beamer, passenger aboard United Airlines Flight 93 recognized as a hero for his actions
• Harry Blackstone, Sr., magician
• Harry Blackstone, Jr., magician and television performer
• Ralph Bunche, 1950 Nobel Peace Prize winner, first won by an African American
• Christie Brinkley, supermodel and actress
• William Durant Campbell, major leader in World Scout Foundation
• Martin H. Carmody, Depression-era Supreme Knight of Knights of Columbus
• Patricia Donnelly, Miss America 1939
• Pamela Eldred, Miss America 1970
• Daniel Ellsberg, military analyst and political activist known for gathering Pentagon Papers
• Nancy Fleming, Miss America 1961
• Frederick Carl Frieseke, Impressionist painter
• Joe Girard, salesman and author
• Carole Gist, Miss USA 1990
• Kirsten Haglund, Miss America 2008
• Mona Hanna-Attisha, pediatrician and public health advocate
• Robert G. Heft, designer of current 50-star American flag
• Lewis Cass Ledyard, lawyer, president of New York City Bar Association
• Tom McEvoy, professional poker player, 1983 World Series of Poker champion
• Vince Megna, lawyer, author and primary shaper of so-called "lemon laws"
• Perle Mesta, prominent Washington, D.C., socialite
• Marvin Mitchelson, celebrity divorce attorney
• Jerry Mitchell, Tony Award-winning choreographer
• Kenya Moore, 1993 Miss USA
• Lenda Murray, bodybuilder, 8-time Ms. Olympia
• Kaye Lani Rae Rafko, Miss America 1988
• Terry Rakolta, founder of Americans for Responsible Television
• Greg Raymer, 2004 World Series of Poker champion
• Norman Shumway, heart transplant pioneer
• Annie Edson Taylor, first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel
• R.J. Thomas, labor leader
• Dita Von Teese, burlesque dancer
• Veronica Webb, model, Revlon spokesperson
• Ken Westerfield, disc sport pioneer, athlete, showman, promoter
• Floyd Wilcox, president of Shimer College