Divine

American actor, singer and drag queen (1945–1988)

Film & TV

Towson, Maryland, USA

Divine (October 19, 1945 – March 7, 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…

Known for

Too Disgusting To Be Confused — Self2025
My Life with the Waters — Self2021
Disclosure — Edna Turnblad (archive footage)2020
Howard — Dawn Davenport / Earl Peterson (archive footage)2018
BEAT. Contour. Snatched. How Drag Queens Shaped the Biggest Makeup Trends — Self2018
Studio 54 — Self (archive footage)2018
Crime and Beauty: Making ‘Female Trouble’ — Self (archive)2018
Crime and Beauty: Remembering "Female Trouble" — Self (archive)2018
Discolocos — Self (archive footage)2016
Night Flight: Born Again — Self2016

via TMDB

Key facts

Born: Harris Glenn Milstead , ( 1945-10-19 ) October 19, 1945, Baltimore , Maryland, U.S.
Died: March 7, 1988 (1988-03-07) (aged 42), Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place: Prospect Hill Cemetery, Towson, Maryland , U.S.
Occupations: Actor, singer
Years active: 1966–1988
Website: divineofficial .com

via Wikipedia infobox

Official website

Home | Divine Official

The Official Website of Divine, actor (Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble, Polyester, Hairspray), recording star and legendary drag icon, born Harris Glenn Milstead

divineofficial.com →

An indomitable icon of queer culture, Harris Glenn Milstead , better known by his stage name, Divine , was a trailblazing performer whose alter ego was rude, raunchy and outrageous: a joyously self-determined, deeply liberating figure. One of the most recognizable and celebrated counterculture artists, Divine performed mainly female roles in numerous films, most notably those of John Waters including Pink Flamingos , Female Trouble , Polyester and Hairspray . An irreverent symbol of brash, bold wit and in-your-face humor, Divine was also a nightlife fixture and commanded the stage in theatrical productions such as The Neon Woman . Divine also had a successful music career with international hit singles like "You Think You're A Man", "I'm So Beautiful" and "Walk Like A Man", all of which were performed as his female drag persona. He is widely viewed as a hero in both gay and punk culture, as well as one of the most significant drag performers of all time, People magazine described Divine as the "Drag Queen of the Century". The voice of a generation and an unshakeable champion of queer rights, Divine still represents an inspirational figure in the LGBTQ+ community and beyond.

Wikidata facts

Instance of: human
Given name: Glenn
Gender: male
Citizenship: United States
Place of birth: Baltimore
Place of death: Los Angeles
Occupation: screenwriter
Languages spoken: English language
Native language: English language
Genre: Hi-NRG
Instrument: voice
Record label: Bellaphon
Official website: divineofficial.com
Image: Pink Flamingos - Divine.jpg
Residence: Los Angeles

Show 15 more facts

Commons category: Divine
date of birth: 1945-10-19
date of death: 1988-03-07
cause of death: heart failure
unmarried partner: Leo Ford
different from: Divine
nominated for: Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male
start of work period: 1966-00-00
social media followers: 12254
pseudonym: Divine
birth name: Harris Glenn Milstead
writing language: English language
end of work period: 1988-00-00
manner of death: natural causes
name in native language: Divine

Sources (5)

via Wikidata · CC0

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Encyclopedic overview

Harris Glenn Milstead (October 19, 1945 – March 7, 1988), better known by the stage name Divine, was an American actor, singer and drag queen. Closely associated with independent filmmaker John Waters, Divine was a character actor, usually performing female roles in cinematic and theatrical productions, and adopted a female drag persona for his music career.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, to a conservative middle-class family, Milstead developed an early interest in drag while working as a women's hairdresser. By the mid-1960s, he had embraced the city's countercultural scene and befriended Waters, who gave him the name "Divine" and the tagline of "the most beautiful woman in the world, almost". Along with his friend David Lochary, Milstead joined Waters's acting troupe, the Dreamlanders, and adopted female roles for their experimental short films Roman Candles (1968), Eat Your Makeup (1968) and The Diane Linkletter Story (1970). Again in drag, he took a lead role in both of Waters's early full-length movies, Mondo Trasho (1969) and Multiple Maniacs (1970), the latter of which attracted press attention for the group. Milstead next starred in Waters's Pink Flamingos (1972), which was a hit on the U.S. midnight movie circuit, became a cult classic and established Milstead's fame in the American counterculture.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Divine” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.