John Waters

This article is about the American filmmaker born in 1946. For other uses, see John Waters (disambiguation).

John Waters
Waters in May 2014
Born
John Samuel Waters Jr.

(1946-04-22) April 22, 1946 (age 78)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Education
Occupations
  • Filmmaker
  • writer
  • actor
  • artist
Years active1964–present
OrganizationDreamland Productions
RelativesGeorge P. Whitaker (great-great-great-grandfather)
Signature

John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including Multiple Maniacs (1970), Pink Flamingos (1972) and Female Trouble (1974). Waters wrote and directed the comedy film Hairspray (1988), which was later adapted into a hit Broadway musical and a 2007 musical film. Other films he has written and directed include Desperate Living (1977), Polyester (1981), Cry-Baby (1990), Serial Mom (1994), Pecker (1998), and Cecil B. Demented (2000). His films contain elements of post-modern comedy and surrealism.

As an actor, Waters has appeared in the films Sweet and Lowdown (1999), Mangus! (2011), Excision (2012), and Suburban Gothic (2014), as well as the Child's Play franchise with the film Seed of Chucky (2004) and the third season of the television series Chucky (2024). He hosted and produced the television series John Waters Presents Movies That Will Corrupt You (2006). Throughout his career, Waters often collaborated with actor and drag queen Divine and his regular cast of the Dreamlanders.[1] More recently, he performs in his touring one-man show This Filthy World.

Waters also works as a visual artist and across different media, such as installations, photography, and sculpture. The audiobooks he narrated for his books Carsick and Mr. Know-It-All were nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album in 2015 and 2020, respectively.[2] In 2018, Waters was named an officer of the Order of Arts and Letters in France.[3] He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2023.[4]

  1. ^ "Divine times: Mink Stole, the über-fabulous Dreamlander, recalls the heyday of trash". The Irish Times. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  2. ^ Brady, Tara. "Divine times: Mink Stole, the über-fabulous Dreamlander, recalls the heyday of trash". The Irish Times. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  3. ^ "John Waters and Dennis Lim to Receive Insignia of the Order of Arts and Letters". Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States. April 16, 2018. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
  4. ^ "Baltimore filmmaker John Waters receives star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame | VIDEO" The Baltimore Sun. Published September 18, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2023.