John Waters

The always-controversial and influential John Waters has dabbled in virtually every art form. A prolific artist, writer, and fashionista, the pencil-mustachioed Waters made his name primarily as a filmmaker. A product of Baltimore, Waters emerged in the 1960s—after being kicked out of NYU for smoking pot—with a series of raunchy, hilarious, and groundbreaking feature-length films, beginning with Mondo Trasho in '69. The debaucherous movies of Waters starred a collection of bold and uninhibited actors known as the "Dreamlanders," a troupe that included, among others, Mink Stole, Edith Massey, Patricia Hearst, Traci Lords, David Lochary, and, of course, his famous dog-poop-eating muse, Divine (née Harris Glenn Milstead). His films were shot on a modest budget in and around his native Baltimore, even after the notoriety and fame he gained from Pink Flamingos ('72) and Desperate Living ('77) had made Waters a household dirty word. The Pope of Trash gained some modest mainstream acceptance with Hairspray ('88), which has since become a Broadway staple and was remade as a Hollywood movie in 2007. Waters continues to make films that lack subtlety and restraint, and his notoriety has drawn the interest of various stars that have collaborated with him over the years, including Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Johnny Knoxville, and Melanie Griffith.