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Harris Glenn Milstead October 19, — March 7, , 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 mids 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".

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Again in drag, he took a lead role in both of Waters' early full-length movies, Mondo Trasho and Multiple Maniacs , the latter of which attracted press attention for the group. Milstead next starred in Waters' Pink Flamingos , which was a hit on the U. After starring as the lead role in Waters' next film, Female Trouble , Divine moved on to theater, appearing in several avant-garde performances alongside San Francisco drag collective, The Cockettes.

Continuing his cinematic work, he starred in two more of Waters' films, Polyester and Hairspray , the latter of which represented his breakthrough into mainstream cinema and for which he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male. Independent of Waters, he also appeared in several other films, such as Lust in the Dust and Trouble in Mind , seeking to diversify his repertoire by playing male roles.

In , Divine embarked on a career in the disco industry by producing a number of Hi-NRG tracks, most of which were written by Bobby Orlando.

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Described by People magazine as the "Drag Queen of the Century", [ 1 ] Divine has remained a cult figure , particularly within the LGBTQ community, and has provided the inspiration for fictional characters, artworks and songs. Various books and documentary films devoted to his life have also been produced, including Divine Trash and I Am Divine Due to muscular dystrophy , Harris was not required to join the U.

By the time of Divine's birth in , the Milsteads were affluent and socially conservative Baptists. I was probably your American spoiled brat. At age 12, Milstead and his parents moved to the Baltimore suburb of Lutherville , where he attended Towson High School , graduating in They reluctantly paid the many bills he ran up throwing lavish parties where he dressed in drag as his favorite celebrity, actress Elizabeth Taylor.