Photo: New Line Cinema / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Divine fascinates me less as a shock act than as a study in fearlessness. Long before drag had any cultural safety net, Harris Glenn Milstead walked straight into roles most performers wouldn't touch, turning John Waters' transgressive cinema into something joyously unrepentant. I admire how he refused to soften himself for anyone's comfort, building a persona that was loud, defiant and oddly tender. Dying at 42 robbed us of his next act, but the door he kicked open never swung shut again. Every artist who treats outrageousness as a form of honesty owes him a quiet debt, and I count myself firmly among his admirers.
Overview
Harris Glenn Milstead (October 19, 1945 – March 7, 1988), 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.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Divine
- Name (Japanese)
- ディヴァイン
- Reading
- でぃゔぁいん
- Born
- October 19, 1945 – March 7, 1988
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Libra / Rooster
- Origin
- Baltimore, Maryland, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- film actor / singer / actor / recording artist / screenwriter
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Towson High School
- University
- Private
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Film actor — see all → · Singer — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.