Divine

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 womens 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 Waterss 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 indemand 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 mid1960s and starred in a number of Waterss 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 Milsteads 80s films Those who could get past the unremitting weirdness of Divines performance discovered that the actoractress 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 mans quest for liberty and freedom Since his death Divine has remained a cult figure particularly with those in the LGBT community