Person
John Waters
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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 Mu…
IMDbKnown for
Popular titles
Photos
More stills of John Waters
Biography
A closer look
Read full 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.
Filmography
Movies and shows, newest first
- 2026
-
2026
Return to Mortville
Movie Self
-
2026
Kevin
TV show Armando (voice)
-
2026
Eddie Cochran: Don't Forget Me
Movie Self
-
2026
Gays Against Guns
Movie
-
2025
Sarah Squirm: Live + in the Flesh
Movie Stage Manager
-
2025
Room Temperature
Movie Thanks
-
2025
TURA!
Movie Self
- 2025
-
2025
It's Dorothy!
Movie Self
-
2025
A Summer with Joe, Liz and Richard
Movie Self
-
2025
Everybody's Live with John Mulaney
TV show Self - Writer and Film Director
-
2025
Marisa y Gomoso
Movie Thanks
-
2024
As Time Goes By
Movie
-
2024
Doc of Chucky
Movie Self
-
2024
Scala!!!
Movie Self
More credits
-
2023
Lynch/Oz
Movie Host (Chapter 3: 'Kindred') (voice)
-
2023
Little Richard: I Am Everything
Movie Self
-
2023
Digman!
TV show Magnus (voice)
-
2022
Don't Fall in Love with Yourself
Movie Self (Archival)
-
2022
Fragments of Paradise
Movie Self
-
2022
Living with Chucky
Movie Self
-
2022
The Book of Harth
Movie Self
- 2022
-
2022
Tell Me Iggy
Movie Self
-
2022
The Andy Warhol Diaries
TV show Self
-
2021
Blood, Guts and Sunshine: The History of Horror Made in Florida
Movie Self [archival]
-
2021
The Velvet Underground
Movie Self
-
2021
Chucky
TV show Wendell Wilkins
-
2021
Pride
TV show Self
-
2021
My Life with the Waters
Movie Self
-
2020
The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo
Movie Himself
-
2020
Helluva Boss
TV show Rolando (voice)
-
2020
Time Warp Vol. 3: Comedy and Camp
Movie Host
-
2020
Time Warp Vol. 2: Horror and Sci-Fi
Movie Host
-
2020
Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films of All Time
TV show Self - Host
-
2020
Time Warp Vol. 1: Midnight Madness
Movie Host
- 2020
- 2019
-
2019
At the Video Store
Movie Self
