Is Jack White From Detroit? Famous People From Detroit

Yes, Jack White is from Detroit. He was born in the city on July 9, 1975, as John Anthony Gillis, grew up in Mexicantown in Southwest Detroit, and went to Cass Technical High School. Eminem is a different story: he was born in Missouri and became a Detroiter as a kid. That split between “born here” and “raised here” is where most confusion about famous people from Detroit comes from, so this guide sorts it out name by name.

Last checked: Oct. 26, 2026. Birthplaces come from published biographies; sources are listed at the end.

Jump to: Jack White · Eminem · 8 Mile · Kid Rock and Big Sean · Born vs. raised table · Where to visit · FAQ

Is Jack White from Detroit?

Jack White is a Detroit native by every definition. Britannica lists his birthplace as Detroit, and his biographies place his childhood in Mexicantown, the Southwest Detroit neighborhood near the Ambassador Bridge.

• School: Cass Technical High School, the downtown magnet school that also produced Diana Ross and Big Sean.
• First business: After an upholstery apprenticeship, he ran his own shop, Third Man Upholstery. The “Third Man” name later became his record label.
• The White Stripes: He and Meg White formed the band in Detroit in 1997, and it grew out of the city’s garage-rock scene.

White later moved to Nashville, where Third Man Records set up its headquarters in 2009. He didn’t cut ties with home, though. On Nov. 27, 2015, the label opened Third Man Records Cass Corridor at 441 W. Canfield St. in Midtown Detroit, in the same building as the Shinola flagship. So if you hear he “lives in Nashville,” that’s about where he works now, not where he’s from.

Is Eminem from Detroit?

Eminem is Detroit’s most famous adopted son. He was born Marshall Bruce Mathers III on Oct. 17, 1972, in St. Joseph, Missouri. According to the Detroit Historical Society’s Encyclopedia of Detroit, his mother moved the family to Warren, just outside Detroit, when he was 11. Through his childhood, they moved back and forth between Missouri and metro Detroit before settling in the area for good.

Where did Eminem grow up in Detroit?

His best-known home was 19946 Dresden St., on Detroit’s east side just south of 8 Mile Road near Hoover Street. That house appears on the cover of The Marshall Mathers LP. It was torn down in 2013 because of structural problems, so there’s nothing to visit there now. He also went to Lincoln High School in Warren, on the other side of 8 Mile, and he came up in Detroit’s battle-rap scene at spots like the Hip Hop Shop.

What is 8 Mile in Detroit?

8 Mile Road (state highway M-102) runs east-west along most of Detroit’s northern border. It’s called 8 Mile because it sits 8 miles north of the starting point of the region’s mile-road grid at Woodward and Michigan avenues. For decades it has been read as a line between the city and its whiter, wealthier northern suburbs, and that tension drives the 2002 film 8 Mile, a loose take on Eminem’s early life.

Was 8 Mile filmed in Detroit? Yes, in the Detroit area. Production started in September 2001 in Highland Park, the small city almost entirely surrounded by Detroit, and the movie’s song “Lose Yourself” won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Does Eminem still live in Detroit?

Eminem keeps his home address private, and we couldn’t confirm it from a reliable source, so we won’t guess. What’s clear is that he hasn’t left Detroit behind in public life. In September 2021, he opened Mom’s Spaghetti at 2131 Woodward Ave. downtown, and in April 2024, he opened the NFL Draft in Detroit on stage with Lions players and legends.

Is Kid Rock from Detroit? What about Big Sean?

Kid Rock is a metro Detroiter, not a city native. Robert James Ritchie was born Jan. 17, 1971, in Romeo, a village in northern Macomb County, and grew up on his family’s property there, which included an apple orchard. He learned to rap and DJ at talent shows in and around Detroit. He has called Nashville a part-time home since 2005.

Big Sean was born Sean Michael Leonard Anderson on March 25, 1988, in Santa Monica, California, but moved to Detroit when he was 3 months old. He grew up in the city, graduated from Cass Tech, and started the Sean Anderson Foundation in 2012 to support kids and families in Detroit. He’s a Detroiter in every sense except his birth certificate.

Famous people from Detroit: born here or raised here?

Here’s a quick way to settle arguments. “Born” means the birthplace in the person’s biography; “raised” means where they grew up.

Person	Born	Detroit connection	Verdict
Jack White	Detroit	Raised in Mexicantown, Cass Tech	Detroit native
Diana Ross	Detroit	Brewster-Douglass projects, Cass Tech	Detroit native
Smokey Robinson	Detroit	Grew up in the North End; Motown vice president	Detroit native
Eminem	St. Joseph, Missouri	Moved to the area at 11; east side and Warren	Raised in Detroit
Big Sean	Santa Monica, California	Moved to Detroit at 3 months; Cass Tech	Raised in Detroit
Aretha Franklin	Memphis, Tennessee	In Detroit by age 5; father led New Bethel Baptist Church; died at home in Detroit in 2018	Raised in Detroit
Stevie Wonder	Saginaw, Michigan	Moved to Detroit at 4; signed to Motown at 11	Raised in Detroit
Joe Louis	Chambers County, Alabama	Family moved to Detroit in 1926; heavyweight champ 1937-49	Raised in Detroit
Kid Rock	Romeo, Michigan	Macomb County; started in Detroit hip-hop	Metro Detroit
Madonna	Bay City, Michigan	Raised in Pontiac and Avon Township (now Rochester Hills)	Metro Detroit

The pattern is worth knowing. Many of Detroit’s biggest names arrived as kids, often with families who came for church, factory jobs, or a fresh start. For the bigger picture of why the city produced so much music, see what Detroit is known for.

Where to see their Detroit today: a one-day music route

You can cover the main stops in an afternoon. Check each spot’s hours on the day you go.

1. Start at Motown Museum (Hitsville U.S.A.), 2648 W. Grand Blvd., the studio behind Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, and Stevie Wonder. Heads-up: the museum says guided Hitsville tours paused Jan. 20, 2026, for construction, with reopening planned for spring 2027, so check its site before you plan around a tour.
2. Head south to Third Man Records Cass Corridor, 441 W. Canfield St. in Midtown: Jack White’s Detroit store and the clearest physical link to him in the city.
3. Finish downtown at Mom’s Spaghetti, 2131 Woodward Ave., Eminem’s restaurant near the District Detroit arenas.
4. Optional drive: follow 8 Mile Road east of Woodward to see the city-suburb line the movie is named for. The Dresden Street house is gone, so there’s no landmark to stop at.

While Hitsville tours are paused, you can still dig into the city’s music and history at other stops. Our guide to the best museums in Detroit covers the Detroit Historical Museum, the Wright Museum, and more in Midtown.

Famous Detroiters: FAQ

The bottom line on famous people from Detroit

Jack White, Diana Ross, and Smokey Robinson are true Detroit natives. Eminem, Big Sean, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and Joe Louis were born elsewhere but became Detroiters growing up, which is how the city has always worked. Kid Rock and Madonna are metro Detroit. If you’re new to the area, our Detroit at a glance guide explains the county lines and suburbs these stories keep crossing.

Sources: Britannica (Jack White); Detroit Historical Society, Encyclopedia of Detroit (Eminem); FOX 2 Detroit (Dresden Street home, May 2016); Third Man Records (Cass Corridor opening); Motown Museum; Wikipedia biographies of Kid Rock, Big Sean, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Joe Louis and Madonna, and its entries on 8 Mile Road, the film 8 Mile and Mom’s Spaghetti.