Name
John Waters
Known For
Directing
Birthday
1946-04-22 (80 years old)
Place of Birth
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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
Welcome to Hollywood
(14 Votes)
4.143
A film director decides to chart the course of a young actor as he tries to make it in Hol...
Relase Date : 27 Oct, 2000
Trailer
Details
Pink Flamingos
(567 Votes)
6.145
Notorious Baltimore criminal and underground figure Divine goes up against Connie & Raymon...
Relase Date : 17 Mar, 1972
Trailer
Details
These Amazing Shadows
(72 Votes)
7.382
Tells the history and importance of The National Film Registry, a roll call of American ci...
Relase Date : 22 Jan, 2011
Trailer
Details
Seed of Chucky
(1,774 Votes)
5.504
This time around, Chucky and his homicidal honey, Tiffany, are brought back to life by the...
Relase Date : 12 Nov, 2004
Trailer
Details
Jackass Number Two
(1,287 Votes)
6.581
Jackass Number Two is a compilation of various stunts, pranks and skits, and essentially h...
Relase Date : 22 Sep, 2006
Trailer
Details
Inside Deep Throat
(144 Votes)
6.4
In 1972, a seemingly typical shoestring budget pornographic film was made in a Florida hot...
Relase Date : 11 Feb, 2005
Trailer
Details
Desperate Living
(120 Votes)
6.354
After killing her husband, Peggy Gravel and her murderous maid Grizelda wind up in the cra...
Relase Date : 27 May, 1977
Trailer
Details
Movies
Tv Shows
- 2006 Mommie Dearest: Joan Lives On
- 2004 Seed of Chucky as Pete Peters
- 1986 Something Wild as Used Car Guy
- 2021 The Velvet Underground as Self
- 2004 Thinking XXX as Self
- 2021 Blood, Guts and Sunshine: The History of Horror Made in Florida as Self [archival]
- 2006 Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea as Self - Narrator (voice)
- 1999 Sweet and Lowdown as Mr. Haynes
- 2008 The Wild World of Ted V. Mikels as Narrator
- 2002 Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat as The Reverend
- 2023 Little Richard: I Am Everything as Self
- 2006 Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream as Self
- 2006 This Film Is Not Yet Rated as Self - Director of 'A Dirty Shame'
- 2013 Jingle Bell Rocks! as Self
- 2009 It Came from Kuchar as Self
- 1989 Homer and Eddie as Robber #1
- 2006 This Filthy World as Self
- 2010 William S. Burroughs: A Man Within as Self
- 2015 Seed Money: The Chuck Holmes Story as Self
- 1972 Pink Flamingos as Mr. J (narration) (uncredited)
- 2022 The Book of Harth as Self
- 2000 Divine Trash as Self
- 2011 Mangus! as Jesus Christ
- 2012 Excision as William
- 2021 My Life with the Waters as Self
- 2008 Obscene: A Portrait of Barney Rosset and Grove Press as Self
- 1999 Yesterday's Tomorrows as Self
- 2012 Mansome as Self
- 2011 The Advocate for Fagdom as Self
- 1975 Love Letter to Edie as Self
- 2013 Paul Bowles: The Cage Door Is Always Open as Self
- 1999 In Bad Taste as Self
- 2023 Lynch/Oz as Host (Chapter 3: 'Kindred') (voice)
- 2003 A History of Sex as Self
- 2006 That Man: Peter Berlin as Self
- 2014 I Am Divine as Self
- 2022 Tell Me Iggy as Self
- 2007 Here’s Looking at You, Boy as Self
- 2010 Beautiful Darling as Self
- 1995 God Save the Queens
- 2022 Living with Chucky as Self
- 2006 The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players: Off & On Broadway as Self
- 2010 Herschell Gordon Lewis: The Godfather of Gore
- 2006 42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage as Self
- 2014 Suburban Gothic as Cornelius
- Soon Mary Woronov: Cult Queen as Self
- Soon The Brandon Novak Story as Self
- 2011 These Amazing Shadows as Self
- 2022 Fragments of Paradise as Self
- 2007 The Junior Defenders as Narrator
- 2024 Scala!!! as Self
- 2013 The Sarnos: A Life in Dirty Movies as Self
- 2019 At the Video Store as Self
- 2005 All the Dirt on 'A Dirty Shame' as Self
- 2015 The 1000 Eyes of Dr Maddin
- 2008 New Line Cinema: The First Generation and the Next Generation as Self
- 2002 Sylvester: Mighty Real as Self
- 2006 Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema as Self
- 2015 Tab Hunter Confidential as Self
- 2025 A Summer with Joe, Liz and Richard as Self
- 2007 Each Time I Kill as Movie Watcher
- 2016 Wall Writers as Narrator (voice)
- 2007 365 Day Project as Self
- 2011 Blank City as Self
- 2007 Hairspray as Flasher
- 2006 Footlight Parade: Music for the Decades
- 2006 (buz'be bur'kle) n. A Study in Style as Self
- 2006 Busby Berkeley's Kaleidoscopic Eyes
- 2025 TURA! as Self
- 2017 Mansfield 66/67 as Self
- 2006 Jackass Number Two as Self
- 2016 Whatever Happened to Gelitin as Self
- 2000 Welcome to Hollywood as John Waters
- 2007 Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis as Self
- 1976 Edith's Shopping Bag as Self
- 2003 Abby Singer as John Waters (uncredited)
- 1993 Growing Up with John Waters as Self
- 1988 Way USA!
- 2006 Meet The Kuchar Brothers
- 1991 Gastronomic Getaway
- 2006 I, of the Cyclops
- 2015 Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip as First Class Passenger
- 2001 Memories of Oz as Self
- 2018 Sickies Making Films as Self
- 2000 Pie in the Sky: The Brigid Berlin Story as Self
- 2005 Inside Deep Throat as Self
- 2005 It Came from... Baltimore!! as Self
- 2007 Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story as Self
- 1999 Forever Hollywood as Self
- 2017 Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution as Self
- 1985 The Ballad of Sexual Dependency
- 2018 Mugworth as Sir Butler
- 2008 Starz Inside: In the Gutter as Self
- 2008 Coven of the Heathenites as Self
- 2007 Jessica the Hippo as Narrator (Voice)
- 1994 Serial Mom as Ted Bundy (voice) (uncredited)
- 2016 In Conversation With Director John Waters, Actress Kathleen Turner and Actress Mink Stole as Self
- 1996 Ballyhoo: The Hollywood Sideshow!
- 2020 The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo as Himself
- 2002 The Cockettes as Self
- 1997 Anthem as Self
- 2015 Sympathy for the Devil: The True Story of The Process Church of the Final Judgment as Self
- 1998 Pecker as Pervert on Phone (voice) (uncredited)
- 2000 Cecil B. Demented as Reporter
- 2020 Time Warp Vol. 1: Midnight Madness as Host
- 2020 Time Warp Vol. 2: Horror and Sci-Fi as Host
- 2012 Frankenstein: A Modern Myth as Self - Director
- 1988 Hairspray as Dr. Fredrickson
- 2019 Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn as Self
- 2009 For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism as Self
- 1969 Mondo Trasho as Reporter (voice) (uncredited)
- 1985 Divine Waters as Self
- 2020 Time Warp Vol. 3: Comedy and Camp as Host
- 2020 Joel Calls Indie Film Type Dudes
- 2019 Sniffing Out ‘Polyester’ as Self
- 2018 Crime and Beauty: Making ‘Female Trouble’
- 2019 30/30 Vision: Three Decades of Strand Releasing as Self
- 2006 Treasures Untold: The Making of Disney's 'The Little Mermaid' as Self
- 1998 Anarchy TV
- 2022 Don't Fall in Love with Yourself as Self (Archival)
- 2024 Doc of Chucky as Self
- 2004 Closer Than That: A Documentary on Low as Himself
- 2024 As Time Goes By
- 2025 It's Dorothy! as Self
- 2025 Velvet Vision: The Story of James Bidgood and the Making of Pink Narcissus as Self
- 2025 Sarah Squirm: Live + in the Flesh as Stage Manager
- Soon Baltigore as The Broker
- 2018 Female Trouble: On-Set Footage
- 2010 The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special - In 3D! On Ice! as Self
- 1982 Nuart Theatre No Smoking PSA as Self
- 2026 Gays Against Guns
- Soon Mamie Exposed! The Life and Loves of the Last Blonde Bombshell
- 1993 The Big Wet as Narrator
- 2026 Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World as Self
- 2014 The Last Impresario as Self
- Soon Serial Mom: Surreal Moments as Self
- 2007 You Can’t Stop the Beat: The Long Journey of "Hairspray" as Self
- 2007 The Roots of 'Hairspray' as Self
- 2026 Return to Mortville as Self
- Soon New Line: Independent Legacies as Self
- 1989 The Simpsons ( 1 episode ) as John (voice)
- 1987 21 Jump Street ( 1 episode ) as Mr. Bean
- 1996 The Daily Show ( 2 episodes ) as Self - Guest
- 1996 E! True Hollywood Story ( 1 episode )
- 1993 Frasier ( 1 episode ) as Roger (voice)
- 2012 Finding Your Roots ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1993 Homicide: Life on the Street ( 2 episodes ) as R. Vincent Smith
- 2006 The Henry Rollins Show ( 1 episode )
- 2007 'Til Death Do Us Part ( 13 episodes )
- 2021 Pride ( 6 episodes ) as Self
- 1998 So Graham Norton ( 1 episode ) as Self - Guest
- 2006 I Love the '70s: Volume 2 ( 10 episodes ) as Self
- 2018 Explained ( 1 episode ) as Narrator (voice)
- 2022 The Andy Warhol Diaries ( 6 episodes ) as Self
- 2010 Offspring ( 52 episodes )
- 2014 HitRECord on TV with Joseph Gordon-Levitt ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2013 RuPaul Drives... ( 2 episodes ) as Self - Guest
- 2007 The Graham Norton Show ( 2 episodes ) as Self - Guest
- 2014 Late Night with Seth Meyers ( 1 episode ) as Self - Guest
- 2010 Fish Hooks ( 1 episode ) as The Yeti Lobster (voice)
- 2010 Fish Hooks ( 1 episode ) as Ezekiel Freshwater / Hair Man (voice)
- 2007 Indie Sex ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2016 Search Party ( 2 episodes ) as Sheffield
- 2009 Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen ( 1 episode ) as Self - Guest
- 2013 The Blacklist ( 1 episode ) as John Waters
- 2016 The New Yorker Presents ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2022 Charles Band’s Full Moon Freakshow ( 1 episode )
- 2017 FEUD ( 1 episode ) as William Castle
- 2014 Clarence ( 1 episode ) as Captain Tom (voice)
- 2005 My Name Is Earl ( 1 episode ) as Walter Hamerick
- 1975 Saturday Night Live ( 1 episode ) as Self - Cameo (uncredited)
- 2003 Real Time with Bill Maher ( 9 episodes ) as Self - Guest
- 2009 RuPaul's Drag Race ( 1 episode ) as Self - Guest Judge
- 2009 RuPaul's Drag Race ( 1 episode ) as Self - Special Guest
- 2021 Chucky ( 1 episode ) as Wendell Wilkins
- 1988 The Incredibly Strange Film Show ( 2 episodes ) as Self
- 1999 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit ( 2 episodes ) as Pornmonger Man
- 2018 Liverspots and Astronots ( 21 episodes ) as O-Dor
- 1992 HBO First Look ( 1 episode )
- 1994 Family Album ( 2 episodes ) as Vincent
- 2025 Everybody's Live with John Mulaney ( 1 episode ) as Self - Writer and Film Director
- 2020 Helluva Boss ( 1 episode ) as Rolando (voice)
- 2026 Kevin ( 8 episodes ) as Armando (voice)
- 2023 Digman! ( 1 episode ) as Magnus (voice)
- 2005 The Colbert Report ( 2 episodes ) as Self - Guest
- 1956 Tony Awards ( 1 episode ) as Self - Presenter
- 1982 Late Night with David Letterman ( 6 episodes ) as Self - Guest
- 1993 Late Show with David Letterman ( 1 episode ) as Self - Guest
- 1998 The Roseanne Show ( 1 episode ) as Self - Guest
- 1996 The Daily Show ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2015 The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ( 1 episode ) as Self - Guest
- 1997 The View ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2020 Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films of All Time ( 3 episodes ) as Self - Host
- 1993 Eurotrash ( 1 episode )
- 1990 The Word ( 1 episode )
