Josephine Baker

A dancer and singer - and even a spy! -Josephine Baker was all the rage and scandal in 1920s Paris, especially after she performed her "Danse Sauvage" at the Folies Bergère. She wore only a string of pearls, wrist cuffs, and a skirt of 16 rubber bananas! Born Freda Josephine McDonald in St Louis MO to Carrie McDonald (adopted by Richard and Elvira McDonald, formerly enslaved) and possibly Eddie Carson (a vaudeville drummer) although there is a suspicion that her father may have been Carrie's German employer, Josephine grew up poor. Her mother married Arthur Martin later but he didn't usually have a job so her mother took in laundry to keep the family afloat. From this marriage, Josephine had 3 half siblings, Arthur, Marguerite and Willie. Working as household help and a waitress and living on the streets in her very early teens, Josephine began busking as a street-corner dancer. She met and married Willie Wells at age 13 but the marriage lasted less than a year. Then at age 15 (1921), she married Willie Baker. Although they divorced in 1925, she kept "Baker" as her surname for the rest of her life. (She married twice more, Jean Lion 1937 - 1940 and Jo Bouillon (1947 - 1961) and had another relationship from 1973 - 1975 with Robert Brady). None of her relationship lasted long. At age 15, Josephine moved to New York and became a highly paid dancer but true fame came when she went to Paris (her home for the rest of her life). She later said of her first time in Paris ""No, I didn't get my first break on Broadway. I was only in the chorus in 'Shuffle Along' and 'Chocolate Dandies'. I became famous first in France in the twenties. I just couldn't stand America and I was one of the first colored Americans to move to Paris. Oh yes, Bricktop was there as well. Me and her were the only two, and we had a marvellous time. Of course, everyone who was anyone knew Bricky. And they got to know Miss Baker as well." In Paris, she danced practically nude (for instance, wearing just a skirt of fake bananas) and appearing onstage with her pet cheetah. Ernest Hemingway called her ""the most sensational woman anyone ever saw." After another marriage to a Frenchman, Josephine became a citizen of France. When France declared war on Germany (WW2), she was recruited as a spy for the French, charming German high officials at parties and passing on the information she gathered. After the war, Baker received the Croix de guerre and the Rosette de la Résistance. She was made a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur by General Charles de Gaulle. After the War, she returned to performing as well becoming a supporter of the Civil Rights Movement. After she and her (Caucasian) husband were refused reservations at 36 hotels in NYC, she wrote articles and traveled in the US South speaking out about racial discrimination and refusing to perform in front of segregated audiences. During her lifetime, she adopted 12 children of different backgrounds who she called her "Rainbow Tribe." Her last performance was on April 8, 1975 - a star-studded gala attended by the likes of Prince Rainier, Princess Grace, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Sophia Loren, Mick Jagger, Shirley Bassey, Diana Ross, and Liza Minnelli. Josephine was found our days later, reportedly "lying peacefully in her bed surrounded by newspapers with glowing reviews of her performance". In a coma after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage, she was taken to Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, where she died, at age 68, on 12 April 1975.