John Waters

Filmmaker

John Waters, already well-known in his native Baltimore for his underground movies, hit it big in the 1970s with low-budget, bad-taste classics such as Pink Flamingoes and Polyester. His first "Hollywood" movie was Hairspray in 1988, starring Ricki Lake and Debbie Harry. Waters is famous for his love of camp and kitsch, and he proudly demonstrates an commitment to offending some audiences. In spite of bigger budgets in the 1990s, he retained creative control of his films, which include Cry Baby, Serial Mom and Cecil B. Demented.

Extra credit: John Waters is unrelated to the Australian actor of the same name... His 1988 movie Hairspray was made into a successful Broadway musical, then filmed again by director Adam Shankman (2007) with a cast that included Christopher Walken, John Travolta and Queen Latifah.