John Waters
- Known for
- Directing
- Born
- April 22, 1946
- Birthplace
- 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 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
Liarmouth: A Feel-Bad Romance TBA
Director
- New Line: Independent Legacies
New Line: Independent Legacies TBA
as Self
- Mamie Exposed! The Life and Loves of the Last Blonde Bombshell
Mamie Exposed! The Life and Loves of the Last Blonde Bombshell TBA
Actor
Baltigore TBA
as The Broker
The Brandon Novak Story TBA
as Self
Mary Woronov: Cult Queen TBA
as Self
Vincent Price: What Keeps Us Alive 2026
Actor
Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World 2026
as Self
Return to Mortville 2026
as Self
Eddie Cochran: Don't Forget Me 2026
as Self
Gays Against Guns 2026
Actor
Sarah Squirm: Live + in the Flesh 2025
as Stage Manager
Room Temperature 2025
Thanks
TURA! 2025
as Self
Velvet Vision: The Story of James Bidgood and the Making of Pink Narcissus 2025
as Self
It's Dorothy! 2025
as Self
A Summer with Joe, Liz and Richard 2025
as Self
Marisa y Gomoso 2025
Thanks
As Time Goes By 2024
Actor
Doc of Chucky 2024
as Self
Scala!!! 2024
as Self
Lynch/Oz 2023
as Host (Chapter 3: 'Kindred') (voice)
Little Richard: I Am Everything 2023
as Self
Don't Fall in Love with Yourself 2022
as Self (Archival)
Fragments of Paradise 2022
as Self
Living with Chucky 2022
as Self
The Book of Harth 2022
as Self
Tell Me Iggy 2022
as Self
Blood, Guts and Sunshine: The History of Horror Made in Florida 2021
as Self [archival]
The Velvet Underground 2021
as Self
- My Life with the Waters
My Life with the Waters 2021
as Self
The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo 2020
as Himself
Time Warp Vol. 3: Comedy and Camp 2020
as Host
Time Warp Vol. 2: Horror and Sci-Fi 2020
as Host
Time Warp Vol. 1: Midnight Madness 2020
as Host
Joel Calls Indie Film Type Dudes 2020
Actor
30/30 Vision: Three Decades of Strand Releasing 2019
as Self, Director
At the Video Store 2019
as Self
Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn 2019
as Self
Sniffing Out ‘Polyester’ 2019
as Self, Thanks
Permanent Green Light 2019
Thanks
Mugworth 2018
as Sir Butler
Female Trouble: On-Set Footage 2018
Actor
- Crime and Beauty: Making ‘Female Trouble’
Crime and Beauty: Making ‘Female Trouble’ 2018
Actor
Sickies Making Films 2018
as Self
Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution 2017
as Self
Mansfield 66/67 2017
as Self
Hairspray Live! 2016
Associate Producer, Original Story
Wall Writers 2016
as Narrator (voice)
In Conversation With Director John Waters, Actress Kathleen Turner and Actress Mink Stole 2016
as Self
Whatever Happened to Gelitin 2016
as Self
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip 2015
as First Class Passenger
Sympathy for the Devil: The True Story of The Process Church of the Final Judgment 2015
as Self
The 1000 Eyes of Dr Maddin 2015
Actor
Seed Money: The Chuck Holmes Story 2015
as Self
Tab Hunter Confidential 2015
as Self
Kiddie Flamingos 2015
Director, Writer
Suburban Gothic 2014
as Cornelius
The Last Impresario 2014
as Self
I Am Divine 2014
as Self
Jingle Bell Rocks! 2013
as Self
Paul Bowles: The Cage Door Is Always Open 2013
as Self
The Sarnos: A Life in Dirty Movies 2013
as Self
Frankenstein: A Modern Myth 2012
as Self - Director
Excision 2012
as William
Mansome 2012
as Self
The Advocate for Fagdom 2011
as Self
Blank City 2011
as Self
Mangus! 2011
as Jesus Christ
These Amazing Shadows 2011
as Self
William S. Burroughs: A Man Within 2010
as Self
Herschell Gordon Lewis: The Godfather of Gore 2010
Actor
Beautiful Darling 2010
as Self
Putty Hill 2010
Thanks
The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special - In 3D! On Ice! 2010
as Self
It Came from Kuchar 2009
as Self
For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism 2009
as Self
The Wild World of Ted V. Mikels 2008
as Narrator
Obscene: A Portrait of Barney Rosset and Grove Press 2008
as Self
Starz Inside: In the Gutter 2008
as Self
New Line Cinema: The First Generation and the Next Generation 2008
as Self
Coven of the Heathenites 2008
as Self
365 Day Project 2007
as Self
The Roots of 'Hairspray' 2007
as Self
You Can’t Stop the Beat: The Long Journey of "Hairspray" 2007
as Self
Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story 2007
as Self
The Junior Defenders 2007
as Narrator
Jessica the Hippo 2007
as Narrator (Voice)
An American Crime 2007
Thanks
Hairspray 2007
as Flasher, Original Film Writer
Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis 2007
as Self
Each Time I Kill 2007
as Movie Watcher
Here’s Looking at You, Boy 2007
as Self
This Filthy World 2006
as Self, Screenplay
- Treasures Untold: The Making of Disney's 'The Little Mermaid'
Treasures Untold: The Making of Disney's 'The Little Mermaid' 2006
as Self
Jackass Number Two 2006
as Self
This Film Is Not Yet Rated 2006
as Self - Director of 'A Dirty Shame'
- The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players: Off & On Broadway
The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players: Off & On Broadway 2006
as Self
Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream 2006
as Self
Mommie Dearest: Joan Lives On 2006
Actor
- Busby Berkeley's Kaleidoscopic Eyes
Busby Berkeley's Kaleidoscopic Eyes 2006
Actor
(buz'be bur'kle) n. A Study in Style 2006
as Self
Footlight Parade: Music for the Decades 2006
Actor
42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage 2006
as Self
Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea 2006
as Self - Narrator (voice)
Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema 2006
as Self
That Man: Peter Berlin 2006
as Self
I, of the Cyclops 2006
Actor
Meet The Kuchar Brothers 2006
Actor
It Came from... Baltimore!! 2005
as Self
All the Dirt on 'A Dirty Shame' 2005
as Self
Inside Deep Throat 2005
as Self
Seed of Chucky 2004
as Pete Peters
Thinking XXX 2004
as Self
A Dirty Shame 2004
Director, Writer
Closer Than That: A Documentary on Low 2004
as Himself
Abby Singer 2003
as John Waters (uncredited)
A History of Sex 2003
as Self
- Sylvester: Mighty Real
Sylvester: Mighty Real 2002
as Self
Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat 2002
as The Reverend
The Cockettes 2002
as Self
Memories of Oz 2001
as Self
Welcome to Hollywood 2000
as John Waters
Pie in the Sky: The Brigid Berlin Story 2000
as Self
Cecil B. Demented 2000
as Reporter, Director, Writer
Divine Trash 2000
as Self
Sweet and Lowdown 1999
as Mr. Haynes
In Bad Taste 1999
as Self
Yesterday's Tomorrows 1999
as Self
Forever Hollywood 1999
as Self
Pecker 1998
as Pervert on Phone (voice) (uncredited), Director, Screenplay
Anarchy TV 1998
Actor
Whipped 1998
Thanks
Anthem 1997
as Self
Ballyhoo: The Hollywood Sideshow! 1996
Actor
God Save the Queens 1995
Actor
Serial Mom 1994
as Ted Bundy (voice) (uncredited), Director, Writer
The Big Wet 1993
as Narrator
Growing Up with John Waters 1993
as Self
Poison 1991
Thanks
Gastronomic Getaway 1991
Actor
Cry-Baby 1990
Director, Writer
Homer and Eddie 1989
as Robber #1
Hairspray 1988
as Dr. Fredrickson, Director, Co-Producer, Writer
Way USA! 1988
Actor
Something Wild 1986
as Used Car Guy
The Ballad of Sexual Dependency 1985
Actor
- Divine Waters
Divine Waters 1985
as Self
Nuart Theatre No Smoking PSA 1982
as Self, Director
Polyester 1981
Director, Producer, Writer
Desperate Living 1977
Director, Writer, Additional Photography, Producer
Female Trouble 1976
Director, Producer, Director of Photography, Editor, Writer
Edith's Shopping Bag 1976
as Self
Love Letter to Edie 1975
as Self
Pink Flamingos 1972
as Mr. J (narration) (uncredited), Director, Producer, Director of Photography, Editor, Writer
Multiple Maniacs 1970
Original Music Composer, Director, Writer, Producer, Director of Photography, Editor
The Diane Linkletter Story 1970
Editor, Producer, Director, Director of Photography, Writer
Mondo Trasho 1969
as Reporter (voice) (uncredited), Original Music Composer, Editor, Director of Photography, Producer, Writer, Director
Eat Your Makeup 1968
Director, Writer, Producer, Director of Photography, Editor
Dorothy, the Kansas City Pot Head 1968
Director, Writer
- Roman Candles
Roman Candles 1967
Director, Writer, Producer, Director of Photography, Editor
Hag in a Black Leather Jacket 1964
Director, Writer, Producer, Director of Photography, Editor
Credits from TMDB.