Josephine Baker
American-born French dancer, singer and actress (1906–1975) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Josephine Baker (June 3, 1906 – April 12, 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer, and actress. She was born Freda Josephine McDonald in St. Louis, Missouri. Fluent in both English and French, Baker became an international musical and political icon. She was given such nicknames as the "Bronze Venus", the "Black Pearl", and the "Créole Goddess".
Josephine Baker | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Freda Josephine McDonald |
Born | (1906-06-03)June 3, 1906 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.[1][2] |
Died | April 12, 1975(1975-04-12) (aged 68) Paris, France |
Genres | Cabaret, Music hall |
Occupation(s) | Dancer, singer, actress, civil rights activist, spy |
Website | Josephine Baker profile |
Spouse(s) | Willie Wells (1919) Willie Baker (1921) Jean Lion (1937) Jo Bouillon (1947) |
Children | adopted 12 |
Baker was the first African-American female to star in a major motion picture, Zouzou (1934), and to become a world-famous entertainer.
She tried to integrate an American concert hall,[3] and is noted for her contributions to the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. She was offered the unofficial leadership of the movement by Coretta Scott King in 1968 following Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination, but turned it down.[4]
Baker became a citizen of France in 1937. She helped the French Resistance during World War II,[5] and was awarded the Croix de Guerre, the Légion d'Honneur and the Rosette of the Résistance after the war.