In the ’70s and ’80s, long before Drag hit the mainstream, Divine, described as the “Drag Queen of the Century” by People Magazine, reshaped pop culture forever.
Born Harris Glenn Milstead in 1945, Milstead had a tough childhood; he was bullied and even beaten at school, and had to be taken to and from school in a police car. At 16, however, his life started to change. He met John Waters, a boy who lived down the street from him and would become a lifelong friend and collaborator.
Glenn learned hair styling, and it was his first job after graduating. He trained and worked in several salons until his parents helped him open his own, but in 1970, Glenn quit hairdressing.
During that time, the character of Divine started to take more shape. The name “Divine” was given to Glenn by Waters who borrowed the name from a character in the book Our Lady of the Flowers by Jean Genet. In 1973, Divine decided that this would be the new name and asked to be called by it instead of Glenn.
After Divine made his name known, Waters encouraged Divine to start working on his drag persona, and the two began creating films and shows together.
“John wanted a very large woman because he wanted the exact opposite of what normally would be beautiful. He wanted a 300-pound beauty, as opposed to a 110-pound beauty. He wanted, as I’ve been called, inflated Jayne Mansfield.” Divine told Terry Gross on NPR’s Fresh Air in 1988.
Their first were Roman Candles and Eat Your Makeup, two shorts from 1966 and 1968 in which Divine appeared as drag for the first time. After that came Mondo Trasho, their first feature-length film together.
In the 1972’s Pink Flamingos, Divine made one of the most shocking and nauseating scenes in cinema history. He continued to show his talent in films like Polyester and his last film, Hairspray, in which Divine caught the eye of New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael: “It’s really Divine’s movie: he watches over Tracy and preens like a mother hen,” she wrote in 1988.
After this film, Divine was offered a male role on the sitcom Married…with Children, but sadly, he died of a heart attack three weeks after Hairspray was released.
“Divine and Glenn Milstead are both just names. Glenn is the name I was brought up with, Divine is the name I’ve been using for the past 23 years. I guess it’s always Glenn and it’s always Divine,” Divine once said.
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