It has been posited that Malnorowski, a grotesque, loud-mouthed member of the teenage delinquent gang headed by Johnny Depp's Wade "Cry-Baby" Walker, had originally been conceived by John Waters with Divine in mind.

"[6] To find a suitable actress, Waters placed a print advertisement that simply requested: "Wanted: Girl with a good body and an alarming face who is proud of it".

"[3] After principal production of Cry-Baby was completed in July 1989, a series of test screenings was held during which McGuire's performance as Hatchetface was so well-received that Waters decided to insert some additional sequences involving the character.

[11] Writing in New York Magazine, David Denby noted the presence of "a startlingly ugly baby tramp, Hatchetface, played, with makeup spread all over her face, by the masochistically courageous Kim McGuire.

"[13] Other critics were no less descriptive, and variously described her as "a hideously contorted floozy" (New York Times), "gorgeously grotesque" (Newsweek), "a character with a mug like silly putty with eyes" (The Advocate), and "a sort of junior Margaret Hamilton" (Atlanta Journal Constitution).

[17] For many months after the release of Cry-Baby, McGuire remained a prominent feature on the Hollywood social circuit, being photographed at film premieres (including Postcards from the Edge and David Lynch's Wild at Heart), parties, benefits and other A-list events.

In February 1990, when Cry-Baby was first screened for its cast and crew, McGuire was already working on her next film, Charles Winkler's horror flick Disturbed, starring Malcolm McDowell as a psychotic doctor.

[citation needed] However, her lead role as the psychopathic nurse Annie Wilkes was subsequently taken by Kathy Bates, who went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance.

Nevertheless, McGuire continued to work in films over the next few years, with appearances in a TV movie, Acting on Impulse (1993); and an uncredited cameo in John Waters' next project, Serial Mom (1994).

[18] In one episode, a magician performed a series of unconventional magic tricks, prompting one critic to describe the sequence as "a must-see, if only for the nightmarishly Fly-like image of Kim McGuire stepping out of a vanishing box with her head on the body of a skittering iguana.

The couple moved to Biloxi, Mississippi, where, a few years earlier, McGuire's parents (still living in New Orleans) had purchased a seaside vacation house in the exclusive Holy Land district.

[21] In September 2005, McGuire and Piotrowsky were rendered homeless by Hurricane Katrina; it was reported that "they lost everything except for Gene’s Emmy, which was found broken amidst the rubble that was their home".

The former actress was one of several original cast members (along with Johnny Depp, Amy Locane, Traci Lords, Ricki Lake, Darren E. Burrows and Stephen Mailer) who reunited for the filming of a short documentary, which was included on the disc as a special feature.