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.
Pink Flamingos
(Divine / Babs Johnson)
Out of the Dark
(Det. Langella)
Trouble in Mind
(Hilly Blue)
Female Trouble
(Dawn Davenport / Earl Peterson)
Polyester
(Francine Fishpaw)
Divine: Shoot Your Shot & Live at the Hacienda
(Self (archive footage))
The Neon Woman
(Flash Storm (archive footage))
Lust in the Dust
(Rosie Velez)
Tab Hunter Confidential
(Self (archive footage))
Divine Trash
(Self)
DIVINE R.I.P.
(Self (archive footage))
My Life with the Waters
(Self)
I Am Divine
(Self (archive footage))
The Alternative Miss World
(Self - Guest of Honour)
Discolocos
(Self (archive footage))
Queen: The Magic Years vol. 3
(Self)
Queen: The Magic Years vol. 1
(Self)
Queen: Magic Years - A Visual Anthology
(Self)
The British Guide to Showing Off
(Self (archive footage))
Howard
(Dawn Davenport / Earl Peterson (archive footage))
The Cockettes
(Self (archive footage))
Disclosure
(Edna Turnblad (archive footage))
Night Flight: Born Again
(Self)
Uncle Bob
(Self)
Divine: Live at the Hacienda
Divine: Shoot Your Shot
Underground and Emigrants
(Self)
Tally Brown, New York
Rhythm Divine - History of Disco Music
(Self (archive footage))
In Bad Taste
(Self (archive footage))
Hairspray
(Edna Turnblad / Arvin Hodgepile)
Multiple Maniacs
(Lady Divine)
Mondo Trasho
(Divine / Greaser in Alley)
The Diane Linkletter Story
(Diane Linkletter)
Divine Waters
(Self)
Eat Your Makeup
(Jacqueline Kennedy)
Roman Candles
(Party Guest / Man with Scarf)
Soul Ache
(Actriz cantante (Singer actress))
BEAT. Contour. Snatched. How Drag Queens Shaped the Biggest Makeup Trends
Studio 54
(Self (archive footage))
Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy
(Self (archive footage))
Tales from the Darkside
Cachitos de hierro y cromo
(Self (archive footage))
Girls and Boys - Sex and British Pop
(Self)
Sex 'n' Pop
(Self (archive footage))
The Incredibly Strange Film Show
(Self)