Image of Divine

Divine

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Divine (19 October 1945 – 7 March 1988), né Harris Glenn Milstead, was an American actor, singer and drag queen. Described by People magazine as the "Drag Queen of the Century", Divine often performed female roles in both cinema and theater and also appeared in women's clothing in musical performances. Even so, he considered himself to be a character actor and performed male roles in a number of his later films. He was often associated with independent filmmaker John Waters and starred in ten of Waters's films, usually in a leading role. Concurrent with his acting career, he also had a successful career as a disco singer during the 1980s, at one point being described as "the most successful and in-demand disco performer in the world." Born in Baltimore, Maryland, into a conservative, wealthy middle class family, he became involved with John Waters and his acting troupe, the Dreamlanders, in the mid-1960s and starred in a number of Waters's early films such as Mondo Trasho, Multiple Maniacs, Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble. These films have since become cult classics. In the 1970s, Milstead made the transition to theater and appeared in a number of productions, including Women Behind Bars and The Neon Woman, while continuing to star in such films as Polyester, Lust in the Dust and Hairspray. The New York Times said of Milstead's '80s films: "Those who could get past the unremitting weirdness of Divine's performance discovered that the actor/actress had genuine talent, including a natural sense of comic timing and an uncanny gift for slapstick." He was also described as "one of the few truly radical and essential artists of the century… was an audacious symbol of man's quest for liberty and freedom." Since his death, Divine has remained a cult figure, particularly with those in the LGBT community. Description above from the Wikipedia article Divine (actor), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia


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Born:
Oct 19, 1945 In Towson, Baltimore County, Maryland, United States
Movie/TV Credits:
35
First Appeared:
In the movie My Life with the Waters
Latest Project:
Series Kumusta Bro? 2022-07-30
Known For
Filmography
Movie My Life with the Waters Self 2025
Series Kumusta Bro? 2022-07-30
Movie Disclosure Edna Turnblad (archive footage) 2020-06-19
Movie Gully Boy: Live In Concert Himself 2019-02-14
Movie Howard Dawn Davenport / Earl Peterson (archive footage) 2018-04-22
Movie The System Poet 2018-09-28
Movie Studio 54 Self (archive footage) 2018-06-15
Movie BEAT. Contour. Snatched. How Drag Queens Shaped the Biggest Makeup Trends 2018-12-11
Movie Tab Hunter Confidential Self (archive footage) 2015-03-15
Movie I Am Divine Self (archive footage) 2013-03-09
Movie The British Guide to Showing Off Self (archive footage) 2011-11-11
Movie Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy Self (archive footage) 2010-05-04
Series Girls and Boys - Sex and British Pop Self 2005-10-23
Movie The Cockettes Self (archive footage) 2002-01-16
Movie Divine Trash Self 2000-03-31
Movie In Bad Taste Self (archive footage) 1999-09-03
Movie Soul Ache Actriz cantante (Singer actress) 1998-08-14
Movie Rhythm Divine - History of Disco Music Self (archive footage) 1992-09-20
Movie Out of the Dark Det. Langella 1988-06-02
Movie Hairspray Edna Turnblad / Arvin Hodgepile 1988-02-26
Movie Queen: Magic Years - A Visual Anthology Self 1987-11-30
Movie Divine Waters Self 1985-01-01
Movie Trouble in Mind Hilly Blue 1985-12-11
Movie Lust in the Dust Rosie Velez 1985-03-01
Movie Polyester Francine Fishpaw 1981-05-29
Movie The Alternative Miss World Self - Guest of Honour 1980-09-18
Movie Tally Brown, New York 1979-05-04
Movie Underground and Emigrants Self 1976-10-25
Movie Female Trouble Dawn Davenport / Earl Peterson 1974-10-04
Movie Pink Flamingos Divine / Babs Johnson 1972-03-17
Movie Multiple Maniacs Lady Divine 1970-04-10
Movie The Diane Linkletter Story Diane Linkletter 1970-04-10
Movie Mondo Trasho Divine / Greaser in Alley 1969-03-14
Movie Eat Your Makeup Jacqueline Kennedy 1968-02-23
Movie Roman Candles Party Guest / Man with Scarf 1967-05-10