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Divine

Divine

Birthday: 1945-10-19 | Place of Birth: Towson, Maryland, USA

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.

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

2013
I Am Divine

as    Self (archive footage)

2000
Divine Trash

as    Self

1989
Out of the Dark

as    Det. Langella

1988
Hairspray

as    Edna Turnblad / Arvin Hodgepile

1985
Trouble in Mind

as    Hilly Blue

1985
Lust in the Dust

as    Rosie Velez

1981
Polyester

as    Francine Fishpaw

1974
Female Trouble

as    Dawn Davenport / Earl Peterson

1972
Pink Flamingos

as    Divine / Babs Johnson

1970
Multiple Maniacs

as    Lady Divine