John Waters
Born 1946
Known for Cry-Baby, Serial Mom, Pink Flamingos.
Biography
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 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.
Movie Credits
Scala!!! (2024)
The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo (2020)
Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution (2017)
Wall Writers (2016)
This Filthy World (2006)
Sarah Squirm: Live + in the Flesh (2025)
Little Richard: I Am Everything (2023)
Blood, Guts and Sunshine: The History of Horror Made in Florida (2022)
At the Video Store (2019)
I Am Divine (2013)
Herschell Gordon Lewis: The Godfather of Gore (2010)
TURA! (2025)
Lynch/Oz (2022)
Time Warp Vol. 2: Horror and Sci-Fi (2020)
Mansfield 66/67 (2017)
Seed Money: The Chuck Holmes Story (2015)
The Sarnos: A Life in Dirty Movies (2013)
Homer and Eddie (1989)
Fragments of Paradise (2022)
Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn (2019)
Tab Hunter Confidential (2015)
It Came from Kuchar (2009)
A History of Sex (2003)
Suburban Gothic (2014)
Excision (2012)
Inside Deep Throat (2005)
Seed of Chucky (2004)
Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat (2002)
Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
The Velvet Underground (2021)
Jingle Bell Rocks! (2013)
William S. Burroughs: A Man Within (2010)
Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World (2026)
Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World (2026)
It's Dorothy! (2025)
Beautiful Darling (2010)
Obscene: A Portrait of Barney Rosset and Grove Press (2007)
This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006)
Doc of Chucky (2024)
Time Warp Vol. 1: Midnight Madness (2020)
Mansome (2012)
The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special - In 3D! On Ice! (2010)
For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism (2009)
Don't Fall in Love with Yourself (2022)
Living with Chucky (2022)
Hairspray (2007)
Blank City (2010)
Something Wild (1986)
These Amazing Shadows (2011)
The Advocate for Fagdom (2011)
Jackass Number Two (2006)
Starz Inside: In the Gutter (2008)
Cecil B. Demented (2000)
Hairspray (1988)
Abby Singer (2003)
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip (2015)
Pink Flamingos (1976)
Pecker (1998)
