Divine
Actor, Musical Artist
1945 – 1988
Who was Divine?
Harris Glenn Milstead, also known by his stage name as Divine, was an American actor, singer and drag queen. Associated with independent filmmaker John Waters, he was a character actor, usually performing female roles in cinematic and theatrical appearances, and adopted a female drag persona for his music career; People magazine described him as the "Drag Queen of the Century".
Born in Maryland to a conservative, middle-class family, he embraced the counterculture of the 1960s and became involved with Waters's acting troupe, the Dreamlanders, starring in early Waters films Mondo Trasho, Multiple Maniacs, Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble. Hits on the U.S. midnight movie circuit, the films became cult classics. In the 1970s, Divine moved to theater, appearing with The Cockettes before performing in Women Behind Bars and The Neon Woman. Continuing cinematic work, he starred in Polyester, Lust in the Dust and Hairspray. In 1981, Divine embarked in the disco industry, producing Hi-NRG tracks that were mostly written by Bobby Orlando. He achieved global chart success with hits like "You Think You're a Man", "I'm So Beautiful" and "Walk Like a Man".
We need you!
Help us build the largest biographies collection on the web!
- Born
- Oct 19, 1945
Baltimore - Also known as
- Harris Glenn Milstead
- Lady Divine
- Glen Milstead
- Divine 1945 - 1988
- Divvie
- Harris Glen Milstead
- Glenn Milstead
- Glenn
- Divy
- Parents
- Nationality
- United States of America
- Profession
- Education
- Towson High School
- Lived in
- Baltimore
- Died
- Mar 7, 1988
Los Angeles
Submitted
on July 23, 2013
Citation
Use the citation below to add to a bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Divine." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/divine>.
Discuss this Divine biography with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In