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John Waters
Known for: DirectingJohn 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 Sweet and Lowdown (1999), 'Til Death Do Us Part (2007), Mangus! (2011), Excision (2012), Suburban Gothic (2014), and has appeared in the Child's Play franchise with Seed of Chucky (2004) and 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 has often collaborated with actor and drag queen Divine and his regular cast of the Dreamlanders. 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. In 2018, Waters was named an officer of the Order of Arts and Letters in France. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2023.
Filmography 61
Seed of Chucky
as Pete Peters 
Hairspray
as Flasher 
Kevin
as Armando (voice) 
Pink Flamingos
Director, Writer 
Serial Mom
Director, Writer 
Hairspray
Director, Writer 
Jackass Number Two
as Self 
A Dirty Shame
Director, Writer 
Cry-Baby
Director, Writer 
Something Wild
as Used Car Guy 
Desperate Living
Director, Writer 
Pride
as Self 
Sweet and Lowdown
as Mr. Haynes 
Cecil B. Demented
Director, Writer 
Excision
as William 
Inside Deep Throat
as Self 
Multiple Maniacs
Director, Writer 
Polyester
Director, Writer 
Female Trouble
Director, Writer 
Pecker
Director, Screenplay 
Hairspray Live!
Original story 
Suburban Gothic
as Cornelius 
Lynch/Oz
as Host (Chapter 3: 'Kindred') (voice) 
Sarah Squirm: Live + in the Flesh
as Stage Manager 
The Velvet Underground
as Self 
Tab Hunter Confidential
as Self 
Living with Chucky
as Self 
Little Richard: I Am Everything
as Self 
Doc of Chucky
as Self 
Homer and Eddie
as Robber #1 
I Am Divine
as Self 
The Cockettes
as Self 
This Filthy World
as Self 
It's Dorothy!
as Self 
Wall Writers
as Narrator (voice) 
The Advocate for Fagdom
as Self 
Mansfield 66/67
as Self 
The Book of Harth
as Self 
Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea
as Self - Narrator (voice) 
Blank City
as Self 
The Wild World of Ted V. Mikels
as Narrator 
TURA!
as Self 
Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat
as The Reverend 
The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo
as Himself 
Fragments of Paradise
as Self 
At the Video Store
as Self