Born: 19 October 1945 · Died: 7 March 1988 · Age: 42
Quick facts
Date of birth19 October 1945
Date of death7 March 1988
Age at death42
NationalityAmerican
BirthplaceBaltimore, United States
Editor's Take:
Divine matters because he turned a deliberately outrageous persona into a lasting piece of American counterculture. Working with John Waters, he helped make bad taste a form of art and gave midnight cinema one of its defining faces. Yet he also pushed against typecasting, taking male parts and insisting that drag was simply his work clothes. His disco records carried that image to clubs across Europe. Hairspray finally showed mainstream audiences the comic talent that cult fans already knew. He died weeks after its release. Men playing Edna Turnblad in later versions show his lasting influence.
Key Milestones
1966: Stars in Waters's short film Roman Candles, his first screen role.
1972: Pink Flamingos becomes a hit on the American midnight movie circuit.
1982: Begins recording Hi-NRG disco singles, which sold well in clubs worldwide.
1988: Hairspray brings him mainstream praise; he dies in Los Angeles weeks later.
Harris Glenn Milstead (October 19, 1945 – March 7, 1988), better known by the stage name Divine, was an American actor, singer and drag queen.
American actor, singer and drag performer, born 1945
Divine was born in Baltimore on 19 October 1945.
Born Harris Glenn Milstead in Baltimore, he trained as a hairdresser before his friend John Waters gave him the name Divine.
He became a cult star in Waters's films, notably Pink Flamingos (1972) and Female Trouble (1974), as part of the Dreamlanders troupe.
In the 1980s he also had disco hits such as "You Think You're a Man" and reached a wider audience in Hairspray (1988).
Career highlights
1966Roman Candles: First film role, as a nun
1972Pink Flamingos: Midnight-movie cult hit
1974Female Trouble: Lead role as Dawn Davenport
1982Hi-NRG singles: Disco career with Bobby Orlando
1988Hairspray: Mainstream breakthrough as Edna
Did you know?After a row over money in 1972, Divine cut contact with his parents for nine years, sending them over fifty postcards from around the world without a return address.
Divine's birthday is October 19. He was born on October 19, 1945 in Baltimore, United States.
How old was Divine when he died?
Divine died on March 7, 1988, aged 42.
Who shares a birthday with Divine?
Famous people who share Divine's October 19 birthday include Miguel Ángel Asturias, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, John le Carré, Philip Pullman and Hibatullah Akhundzada.
