John Waters

Personal Info

Known For

Directing

Known Credits

173

Gender

Male

Birthday

1946-04-22 (79 years old)

Place of Birth

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

John Waters

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.

Known For

  • Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

    Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

  • The Simpsons

    The Simpsons

  • Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen

    Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen

  • The Blacklist

    The Blacklist

  • The Daily Show

    The Daily Show

  • Saturday Night Live

    Saturday Night Live

  • Late Night with Seth Meyers

    Late Night with Seth Meyers

  • Frasier

    Frasier

  • The Graham Norton Show

    The Graham Norton Show

  • Real Time with Bill Maher

    Real Time with Bill Maher

  • RuPaul's Drag Race

    RuPaul's Drag Race

  • RuPaul's Drag Race

    RuPaul's Drag Race

  • Clarence

    Clarence

  • Chucky

    Chucky

  • My Name Is Earl

    My Name Is Earl

  • 21 Jump Street

    21 Jump Street

  • Homicide: Life on the Street

    Homicide: Life on the Street

  • Fish Hooks

    Fish Hooks

  • Fish Hooks

    Fish Hooks

  • HBO First Look

    HBO First Look

  • Explained

    Explained

  • Pink Flamingos

    Pink Flamingos

  • Search Party

    Search Party

  • FEUD

    FEUD

  • Helluva Boss

    Helluva Boss

  • Everybody's Live with John Mulaney

    Everybody's Live with John Mulaney

  • Finding Your Roots

    Finding Your Roots

  • Lynch/Oz

    Lynch/Oz

  • TURA!

    TURA!

  • Scala!!!

    Scala!!!

  • Hairspray

    Hairspray

  • Abby Singer

    Abby Singer

  • Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip

    Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip

  • Inside Deep Throat

    Inside Deep Throat

  • Sweet and Lowdown

    Sweet and Lowdown

  • Digman!

    Digman!

  • The Cockettes

    The Cockettes

  • Cecil B. Demented

    Cecil B. Demented

  • Mangus!

    Mangus!

  • Gastronomic Getaway

    Gastronomic Getaway

  • In Bad Taste

    In Bad Taste

  • Seed of Chucky

    Seed of Chucky

  • Offspring

    Offspring

  • Pecker

    Pecker

  • So Graham Norton

    So Graham Norton

  • Welcome to Hollywood

    Welcome to Hollywood

  • Sniffing Out ‘Polyester’

    Sniffing Out ‘Polyester’

  • Anarchy TV

    Anarchy TV

  • Mansfield 66/67

    Mansfield 66/67

  • The Andy Warhol Diaries

    The Andy Warhol Diaries

  • Hairspray

    Hairspray

  • Sylvester: Mighty Real

    Sylvester: Mighty Real

  • Yesterday's Tomorrows

    Yesterday's Tomorrows

  • I Am Divine

    I Am Divine

  • The Henry Rollins Show

    The Henry Rollins Show

  • Doc of Chucky

    Doc of Chucky

  • Forever Hollywood

    Forever Hollywood

  • Indie Sex

    Indie Sex

  • Tell Me Iggy

    Tell Me Iggy

  • The Incredibly Strange Film Show

    The Incredibly Strange Film Show

  • Jackass Number Two

    Jackass Number Two

  • Pride

    Pride

  • Thinking XXX

    Thinking XXX

  • I Love the '70s: Volume 2

    I Love the '70s: Volume 2

  • RuPaul Drives...

    RuPaul Drives...

  • Charles Band’s Full Moon Freakshow

    Charles Band’s Full Moon Freakshow

  • Jessica the Hippo

    Jessica the Hippo

  • Serial Mom

    Serial Mom

  • Tab Hunter Confidential

    Tab Hunter Confidential

  • 'Til Death Do Us Part

    'Til Death Do Us Part

  • A History of Sex

    A History of Sex

  • Something Wild

    Something Wild

  • Wall Writers

    Wall Writers

  • Kevin

    Kevin

  • Excision

    Excision

  • HitRECord on TV with Joseph Gordon-Levitt

    HitRECord on TV with Joseph Gordon-Levitt

  • This Filthy World

    This Filthy World

  • The Velvet Underground

    The Velvet Underground

  • E! True Hollywood Story

    E! True Hollywood Story

  • Family Album

    Family Album

  • Liverspots and Astronots

    Liverspots and Astronots

  • Living with Chucky

    Living with Chucky

  • This Film Is Not Yet Rated

    This Film Is Not Yet Rated

  • Mugworth

    Mugworth

  • Way USA!

    Way USA!

  • Suburban Gothic

    Suburban Gothic

  • The New Yorker Presents

    The New Yorker Presents

  • Divine Waters

    Divine Waters

  • Beautiful Darling

    Beautiful Darling

  • These Amazing Shadows

    These Amazing Shadows

  • Time Warp Vol. 1: Midnight Madness

    Time Warp Vol. 1: Midnight Madness

  • Time Warp Vol. 3: Comedy and Camp

    Time Warp Vol. 3: Comedy and Camp

  • I, of the Cyclops

    I, of the Cyclops

  • Little Richard: I Am Everything

    Little Richard: I Am Everything

  • 30/30 Vision: Three Decades of Strand Releasing

    30/30 Vision: Three Decades of Strand Releasing

  • Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story

    Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story

  • Love Letter to Edie

    Love Letter to Edie

  • Homer and Eddie

    Homer and Eddie

  • Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream

    Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream

  • Divine Trash

    Divine Trash

  • It's Dorothy!

    It's Dorothy!

  • It Came from... Baltimore!!

    It Came from... Baltimore!!

  • Treasures Untold: The Making of Disney's 'The Little Mermaid'

    Treasures Untold: The Making of Disney's 'The Little Mermaid'

  • Anthem

    Anthem

  • Sarah Squirm: Live + in the Flesh

    Sarah Squirm: Live + in the Flesh

  • 365 Day Project

    365 Day Project

  • At the Video Store

    At the Video Store

  • Time Warp Vol. 2: Horror and Sci-Fi

    Time Warp Vol. 2: Horror and Sci-Fi

  • New Line Cinema: The First Generation and the Next Generation

    New Line Cinema: The First Generation and the Next Generation

  • Blank City

    Blank City

  • The Ballad of Sexual Dependency

    The Ballad of Sexual Dependency

  • Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema

    Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema

  • Joel Calls Indie Film Type Dudes

    Joel Calls Indie Film Type Dudes

  • Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn

    Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn

  • Mansome

    Mansome

  • Mondo Trasho

    Mondo Trasho

  • William S. Burroughs: A Man Within

    William S. Burroughs: A Man Within

  • Frankenstein: A Modern Myth

    Frankenstein: A Modern Myth

  • All the Dirt on 'A Dirty Shame'

    All the Dirt on 'A Dirty Shame'

  • Sickies Making Films

    Sickies Making Films

  • The Sarnos: A Life in Dirty Movies

    The Sarnos: A Life in Dirty Movies

  • It Came from Kuchar

    It Came from Kuchar

  • The Wild World of Ted V. Mikels

    The Wild World of Ted V. Mikels

  • Here’s Looking at You, Boy

    Here’s Looking at You, Boy

  • The 1000 Eyes of Dr Maddin

    The 1000 Eyes of Dr Maddin

  • Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution

    Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution

  • Each Time I Kill

    Each Time I Kill

  • 42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage

    42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage

  • Edith's Shopping Bag

    Edith's Shopping Bag

  • Growing Up with John Waters

    Growing Up with John Waters

  • Jingle Bell Rocks!

    Jingle Bell Rocks!

  • In Conversation With Director John Waters, Actress Kathleen Turner and Actress Mink Stole

    In Conversation With Director John Waters, Actress Kathleen Turner and Actress Mink Stole

  • As Time Goes By

    As Time Goes By

  • The Junior Defenders

    The Junior Defenders

  • Fragments of Paradise

    Fragments of Paradise

  • Seed Money: The Chuck Holmes Story

    Seed Money: The Chuck Holmes Story

  • (buz'be bur'kle) n. A Study in Style

    (buz'be bur'kle) n. A Study in Style

  • The Advocate for Fagdom

    The Advocate for Fagdom

  • Blood, Guts and Sunshine: The History of Horror Made in Florida

    Blood, Guts and Sunshine: The History of Horror Made in Florida

  • Mommie Dearest: Joan Lives On

    Mommie Dearest: Joan Lives On

  • Whatever Happened to Gelitin

    Whatever Happened to Gelitin

  • The Book of Harth

    The Book of Harth

  • The Brandon Novak Story

    The Brandon Novak Story

  • Paul Bowles: The Cage Door Is Always Open

    Paul Bowles: The Cage Door Is Always Open

  • For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism

    For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism

  • Mary Woronov: Cult Queen

    Mary Woronov: Cult Queen

  • Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis

    Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis

  • Baltigore

    Baltigore

  • Starz Inside: In the Gutter

    Starz Inside: In the Gutter

  • Velvet Vision: The Story of James Bidgood and the Making of Pink Narcissus

    Velvet Vision: The Story of James Bidgood and the Making of Pink Narcissus

  • The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo

    The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo

  • Footlight Parade: Music for the Decades

    Footlight Parade: Music for the Decades

  • Obscene: A Portrait of Barney Rosset and Grove Press

    Obscene: A Portrait of Barney Rosset and Grove Press

  • That Man: Peter Berlin

    That Man: Peter Berlin

  • God Save the Queens

    God Save the Queens

  • My Life with the Waters

    My Life with the Waters

  • Ballyhoo: The Hollywood Sideshow!

    Ballyhoo: The Hollywood Sideshow!

  • The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players: Off & On Broadway

    The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players: Off & On Broadway

  • A Summer with Joe, Liz and Richard

    A Summer with Joe, Liz and Richard

  • Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat

    Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat

  • Pie in the Sky: The Brigid Berlin Story

    Pie in the Sky: The Brigid Berlin Story

  • Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea

    Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea

  • Sympathy for the Devil: The True Story of The Process Church of the Final Judgment

    Sympathy for the Devil: The True Story of The Process Church of the Final Judgment

  • The Fancy Gentleman

    The Fancy Gentleman

  • Memories of Oz

    Memories of Oz

  • Herschell Gordon Lewis: The Godfather of Gore

    Herschell Gordon Lewis: The Godfather of Gore

  • Busby Berkeley's Kaleidoscopic Eyes

    Busby Berkeley's Kaleidoscopic Eyes

  • Don't Fall in Love with Yourself

    Don't Fall in Love with Yourself

  • Crime and Beauty: Making ‘Female Trouble’

    Crime and Beauty: Making ‘Female Trouble’

  • Meet The Kuchar Brothers

    Meet The Kuchar Brothers

  • Female Trouble: On-Set Footage

    Female Trouble: On-Set Footage

  • Coven of the Heathenites

    Coven of the Heathenites

  • Closer Than That: A Documentary on Low

    Closer Than That: A Documentary on Low