Legendary film director John Waters was one of the first to break down cinema barriers by including drag queens in his films regularly. When he did so, he usually had one performer in mind particularly, and that was Divine. She was a star of an era when drag performers were far less accepted by the general public than they are now, but she excelled within that time. It's doubtful that 'Hairspray' would have gone on to be remade and re-imagined as many times as it has if Divine hadn't given such an iconic performance in the original.
Divine is sadly no longer with us, having passed away young of a heart attack in 1988, but TIME Magazine can offer us a perspective on how significant she was to drag - they officially named her as the Drag Queen of the 20th Century. Meeting Waters was a happy coincidence that aided both of their careers; they lived on the same street, and were kicked out of NYU at the same time, giving them nothing to do but try to create movies and make it on their own. They did.
Chefs made their way into celebrity land a while ago. But how many celebrities that weren’t trained as professional cooks are actually whizzes in the kitchen? Here are several that come to mind.
Actress Julia Roberts is confident about her cooking skills. “I’m quite a good cook,” she told E! News. “I’m like a closet home ec teacher…I can really cook anything.” Roberts has said she often cooks fish for herself and her kids. And speaking of her three children, “They think that I’m a good cook,” Roberts told People. “They actually told me that I should open a restaurant.” She also relishes cooking for the holidays, particularly shredded Brussel sprouts. Roberts hasn’t published a cookbook, but we did find recipes attributed to her for peach crisp and banana hemp muffins. Or you can make the same summer salad the actress supposedly eats.
Chrissy Teigen started off as a supermodel. Then her love of cooking filtered into her professional life too. At this point, she’s created recipes for a limited Blue Apron release and also just launched her own home and cooking line at Target named “Cravings,” after the two cookbooks she’s released. Teigen describes cooking as “a time of peace” for herself. So maybe peace out to her tuna melt sandwich or the fried chicken wings that are a favorite of her husband, John Legend.
Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, comes from a cooking Italian family. Her father started his own restaurant in New York and also published a cookbook. And apparently, Lady Gaga has inherited the family’s cooking genes. Her Instagram account occasionally features photos of her culinary activities. Sure, sometimes it’s topless cooking. But other times it’s more poignant like in the post she shared about her bringing food to the family of her dear friend who passed away. Want to try a Gaga/Germanotta family favorite? Check out her recipe for whole wheat pasta with a sweet fennel sauce.