The drag queen alter ego of Harris Glenn Milstead, Divine achieved iconic status through roles in films directed by John Waters and also went on to have some success as a singer. Divine died in 1988 at the age of 42 and was immortalised in animated form as Ursula the sea-witch in Disney's The Little Mermaid (1989).

Divine Origins

Glenn Milstead, as he was known, was born on 19 October, 1945, to Harris and Frances Milstead in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. An only child¹, his parents usually gave him whatever he wanted, including rich food, expensive clothes, and a car. He liked to hold parties (paid for by his parents) for his friends, where he would often dress up as the film star Elizabeth Taylor. He trained as a hairdresser in 1963. He met John Waters in around 1965 and they became friends as they were similar ages and had both lived in Lutherville, Maryland for a time. Waters nicknamed Milstead 'Divine' after Divine the drag queen in the 1943 novel Notre Dame des Fleurs (Our Lady of the Flowers) by Jean Genet.

After qualifying as a hairdresser, Milstead worked in salons at first, but became unemployed. In 1968 his parents bought a beauty shop for him to work in. He moved out of his parents' house later that year. In 1970 his parents provided the funds for him to open a vintage clothing shop that he named 'Divine Trash' but it failed to make a profit. He stopped speaking to his parents in 1972 after they confiscated his car to try to stop him spending money that he didn't have. He sent postcards to reassure them that he was OK, but they were unable to contact him. He soon got into debt without his parents' financial assistance. However, his performances as Divine enabled him to avoid bankruptcy. In 1981 he received a message from his mother at one of Divine's stage shows and they were reconciled.

Divine Performances

John Waters had made a short film Hag in a Black Leather Jacket in 1964, and invited Divine to play the role of a nun in his second short film Roman Candles (1966). Divine also appeared in his third short film Eat Your Makeup (1968) and his first feature film Mondo Trasho (1969). She played Lady Divine in Multiple Maniacs (1970). Divine and John Waters achieved notoriety with the film Pink Flamingos (1972). It was 'an exercise in poor taste' about 'the filthiest person alive' - Divine played Babs Johnson, who wins the 'filthiest person' title by murdering her rivals and eating dog poo. The film gained a cult following and was released on video in several countries outside the USA, bringing John Waters' films to the attention of a wider audience.

In Female Trouble (1974), Divine played two roles - Dawn Davenport and Earl Peterson, marking the first time that Milstead would appear on film as a man. Divine also sang the theme song for the film, foreshadowing her later work as a disco singer.

Divine also performed on stage in the 1970s, in plays, drag shows and gay clubs, in roles including comedy and singing. In 1982 she met Bobby Orlando, a composer and music producer who went on to work with the Pet Shop Boys among many other bands. They recorded an album (Jungle Jezebel) and released three singles, with modest success. Divine went on tour around the USA and Europe. She then worked with Stock, Aitken and Waterman on two singles. 'You Think You're a Man' was their first Top 40 hit. It reached number 16 in the UK music charts in 1984 and Divine performed the song on Top of the Pops². Her album The Story So Far was released in 1984, and Maid in England appeared in 1988.

Milstead played the role of a gay man in the 1985 film Trouble in Mind, which was written and directed by Alan Rudolph. In the same year, Divine appeared in Western film parody Lust in the Dust, directed by Paul Bartel.

In 1988, Divine worked with John Waters on the film Hairspray³ and again played two roles - TV station owner Arvin Hodgepile and Edna Turnblad, the mother of the main character Tracy Turnblad. The film brought Divine to the attention of an even wider audience as, unlike Waters' other films, which were adults-only, it was rated PG. Milstead then recorded a scene as Detective Langella for Out of the Dark, a film produced by Paul Bartel, and was due to play the role of Uncle Otto in the TV series Married... with Children. However, on 7 March, 1988, in a Los Angeles hotel, he died of heart failure in his sleep at the age of just 42.

Divine Legacy

Bernard Jay, Divine's agent 1979-88, wrote Not Simply Divine!, a 'warts and all' biography that was published in 1993. In 2001, Divine's mother Frances Milstead collaborated with documentary-makers Kevin Heffernan and Steve Yeager to write My Son Divine, a biography covering Glenn's childhood as well as his later life as Divine. Postcards from Divine was published in 2011, featuring many of the postcards Milstead had sent to his parents plus photos and anecdotes from the people who had known Divine.

Divine's songs were released in various 'Best Of' compilations throughout the 1990s and even into the 2000s. In RuPaul's Drag Race Season 7 (2015), there was a challenge called 'Divine Inspiration' requiring the contestants to perform songs in parody of scenes in Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble. There is a statue of Divine in the American Visionary Art Museum, Baltimore. And of course, there is plenty of merchandise relating to Disney's Ursula the sea-witch, so Divine's body shape and sensuous movements are immortalised in plastic.