John Waters

John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, and visual artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including Multiple Maniacs, Pink Flamingos, and Female Trouble. Waters wrote and directed the comedy film Hairspray, which was later adapted into a successful Broadway musical and a 2007 musical film. His filmography also includes works such as Desperate Living, Polyester, Cry-Baby, Serial Mom, Pecker, and Cecil B. Demented, which feature elements of postmodern comedy and surrealism.

Waters was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to Patricia Ann and John Samuel Waters, a manufacturer of fire-protection equipment. He grew up in the Baltimore suburb of Lutherville alongside his boyhood friend and muse Glenn Milstead, later known as Divine. Waters attended the Calvert School, Towson Jr. High School, Calvert Hall College High School, and graduated from the Boys' Latin School of Maryland. His interest in puppets began at age seven after viewing the film Lili, prompting him to stage puppet shows for children's birthday parties. As a teenager, he frequently visited Martick's, a beatnik bar in downtown Baltimore, where he met many of his future film collaborators.

Waters began creating short films in his youth, starting with Hag in a Black Leather Jacket, followed by Roman Candles and Eat Your Makeup after leaving New York University. He gained prominence as an underground filmmaker during the 1970s. Working with a company of local Baltimore actors known as the Dreamlanders—including Divine, Mink Stole, Cookie Mueller, Edith Massey, David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce, and Susan Walsh—Waters directed feature films such as Mondo Trasho and Multiple Maniacs. His 1970s releases Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble, and Desperate Living, referred to as the Trash Trilogy, challenged conventional propriety and censorship.

In 1981, Waters released Polyester, which marked his first project where he was not the primary camera operator, collaborating instead with David Insley. His subsequent films moved toward mainstream audiences while retaining his creative style. In 2004, he released the NC-17-rated film A Dirty Shame, marking a return to his earlier controversial approach. Outside of feature films, Waters hosted the television series John Waters Presents Movies That Will Corrupt You and served as the host on 'Til Death Do Us Part.

As an actor, Waters has appeared in feature films including Sweet and Lowdown, Mangus!, Excision, Suburban Gothic, and Seed of Chucky, as well as the television series Chucky. He serves on the boards of the Maryland Film Festival and the Provincetown International Film Festival, hosting events for both since 1999. In addition, he has hosted the annual performance "A John Waters Christmas" since 1996 and launched the annual "Camp John Waters" event in Kent, Connecticut, in 2017.

Waters is also active as a visual artist, producing photo-based works, sculptures, and installations exhibited internationally at venues such as the New Museum, the Baltimore Museum of Art, and the Wexner Center for the Arts. In 2020, he pledged to donate 372 artworks from his personal collection to the Baltimore Museum of Art. As an author, Waters narrated his audiobooks Carsick and Mr. Know-It-All, both of which received Grammy Award nominations for Best Spoken Word Album. He was named an officer of the French Order of Arts and Letters in 2018 and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2023.