Mary Vivian Pearce (born November 9, 1947) is an American actress. She has worked primarily in the films of

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...

Life and career

Pearce is a childhood best friend of Waters and has appeared as an actress in all of his films. Because of her work with Waters, she is considered one of the Dreamlanders, Waters' ensemble of regular cast and crew members. Along with

Mink Stole Nancy Paine Stoll (born August 25, 1947), known professionally as Mink Stole, is an American actress from Baltimore, Maryland. She began her career working for director John Waters, and has appeared in all of his feature films to date (a distin ...

and

Pat Moran Patrick Joseph Moran (February 7, 1876 – March 7, 1924) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He was a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1901 to 1914. The year after his retirement, he became a manager, and he led two ...

, she is one of only three actors to appear in all of his films to date. Pearce is always credited by her real name, but in her personal life, she is known as Bonnie. Her first film with Waters, in 1964, was a 17-minute independent short film called '' Hag in a Black Leather Jacket''. The film was never released. In the rest of Waters' films, she's played both main and bit parts. Her most famous roles were in Waters' ''

Mondo Trasho ''Mondo Trasho'' is a 1969 American 16mm mondo black comedy film by John Waters. The film stars Divine, Mary Vivian Pearce, David Lochary and Mink Stole. It contains very little dialogue, the story being told mostly through musical cues. Plot ...

'', ''

Multiple Maniacs ''Multiple Maniacs'' is a 1970 independent American black comedy film composed, shot, edited, written, produced, and directed by John Waters, as his second feature film and first "talkie". It features several actors who were part of the Dreamla ...

'', ''

Pink Flamingos ''Pink Flamingos'' is a 1972 American surrealist independent black comedy film by John Waters. It is part of what Waters has labelled the "Trash Trilogy", which also includes '' Female Trouble'' (1974) and '' Desperate Living'' (1977). The f ...

'', ''

Female Trouble ''Female Trouble'' is a 1974 American independent dark comedy film written, produced and directed by John Waters. It stars Divine, David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce, Mink Stole, and Edith Massey, and follows delinquent high school student Da ...

'' and ''

Desperate Living ''Desperate Living'' is a 1977 American black comedy film directed, produced, and written by John Waters. The film stars Liz Renay, Mink Stole, Susan Lowe, Edith Massey, Mary Vivian Pearce, and Jean Hill. It is the third installment of wh ...

''. However, as the years progressed, Pearce appeared less and less in Waters' films, usually as an extra or a character without a major impact on the plot. She continues to appear in Waters' films; she appeared as a protester in ''

Cecil B. Demented ''Cecil B. Demented'' is a 2000 black comedy film written and directed by John Waters. The film stars Melanie Griffith as a snobby A-list Hollywood actress who is kidnapped by a band of terrorist filmmakers; they force her to star in their u ...

'' just weeks after brain surgery.

Personal life

At the age of eighteen, Pearce was married to a jockey who worked at Saratoga. In an interview with

Gerald Peary Gerald Peary (born October 30, 1944) is an American film critic, filmmaker, editor of the University Press of Mississippi, and a former curator of the Harvard Film Archive. Early life and education Peary graduated from Rider University in 1964 ...

, Pearce explained that she left for Provincetown to live with Waters and his then-girlfriend, Mona Montgomery:

I was 18, and it was three months after I got married. My husband was a jockey at Saratoga, and he told my father I'd left him and run off with beatniks. I was so pissed at him for telling! As far as I was concerned, it was a fake marriage to get me out of the house. I'd taken all our wedding presents back and bought books and records.

Pearce's

alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...

Goucher College Goucher College ( ') is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Towson, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1885 as a Nonsectarian, nonsecterian Women's colleges in the United States, ...

. She has a graduate degree in creative writing. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland, with her sister and brother-in-law.

Filmography

* '' Hag in a Black Leather Jacket'' (1964) as Bodie green dancer * '' Roman Candles'' (1966) Woman Attacked by Fan * ''

Eat Your Makeup ''Eat Your Makeup'' is a 1968 short film directed by John Waters, starring Marina Melin, Divine, Mary Vivian Pearce, David Lochary, Howard Gruber, and Maelcum Soul. It was John Waters' first film production to be shot on 16mm film; his prior fil ...

'' (1968) as a Kidnapped model * ''

'' (1969) as The Bombshell * ''

The Diane Linkletter Story ''The Diane Linkletter Story'' is a 1970 16mm short film by American filmmaker John Waters starring Divine, Mary Vivian Pearce, and David Lochary. Overview This improvised film is based on the 1969 suicide of TV personality Art Linkletter's dau ...

'' (1969) as Mrs. Linkletter * ''

'' (1970) as Bonnie/Cavalcade Patron * ''

'' (1972) as Cotton * ''

'' (1974) as Donna Dasher * ''

'' (1977) as Princess Coo Coo * ''

Polyester Polyester is a category of polymers that contain one or two ester linkages in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include some natura ...

'' (1981) as Nun in unwed mothers home * ''

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * Hairspray (1988 film), ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** Hairspray (1988 soundtrack), ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundt ...

'' (1988) as Hairhopper Mother * ''

Cry-Baby ''Cry-Baby'' is a 1990 American teen musical romantic comedy film written and directed by John Waters. The film stars Johnny Depp as 1950s teen rebel Wade "Cry-Baby" Walker, and also features a large ensemble cast that includes Amy Locane, ...

'' (1990) as Picnic Mother (scene later removed) * ''

Serial Mom ''Serial Mom'' is a 1994 American satirical black comedy crime film directed and written by John Waters and starring Kathleen Turner as the title character along with Sam Waterston, Ricki Lake, and Suzanne Somers. It tells the story of a housew ...

'' (1994) as Book Buyer * '' Pecker'' (1998) as Homophobe * ''

Divine Trash ''Divine Trash'' is a 1998 American documentary film directed by Steve Yeager about the life and work of filmmaker John Waters, and the making of the 1972 film ''Pink Flamingos'', which is written and directed by Waters and stars Divine. ''Divi ...

'' (1998) as herself * ''

Cecil B. DeMented ''Cecil B. Demented'' is a 2000 black comedy film written and directed by John Waters. The film stars Melanie Griffith as a snobby A-list Hollywood actress who is kidnapped by a band of terrorist filmmakers; they force her to star in their u ...

'' (2000) as Family Lady * ''

A Dirty Shame ''A Dirty Shame'' is a 2004 American satirical sex comedy film written and directed by John Waters and starring Tracey Ullman, Johnny Knoxville, Selma Blair, and Chris Isaak. It follows a community in suburban Baltimore divided between people ...

'' (2004) as Non-judgmental sex addict at meeting * ''

I Am Divine ''I Am Divine'' is a 2013 American documentary film produced and directed by Jeffrey Schwarz of the Los Angeles-based production company Automat Pictures. The documentary focuses on the American actor, singer, and drag performer Divine (October 1 ...

'' (2013) as herself * ''Squirrel'' (2017) as Mrs. Mueller an evil high school principal

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pearce, Mary Vivian 1947 births Living people American film actresses Goucher College alumni Place of birth missing (living people) 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses American expatriates in Nicaragua