Born: June 3, 1906, in St. Louis, Missouri

Died: April 12, 1975, in Paris, France

Known For: Dancer

Josephine Baker’s parents were entertainers and performed throughout the segregated Midwest, often bringing her on stage during their shows. Her father left her family early on, and Josephine, then Freda Josephine McDonald, worked throughout her childhood, making ends meet with her mother cleaning wealthy white folk’s houses. Josephine got her official start on the stage in 1919 with The Jones Family Band and The Dixie Steppers touring the United States. When the troupes split, Josephine auditioned as a chorus girl for The Dixie Steppers in Sissle and Blake’s production Shuffle Along but was rejected due to her skin color. She eventually moved to the heart of the Harlem Renaissance and then to Paris, France. During the Second World War, Baker became a spy for the French Resistance by transporting secrets she heard while performing in front of the enemy by writing with invisible ink on music sheets.

Final Performance at Bobino Theater in Paris

On April 8, 1975, Josephine Baker reprised many of her famous dances at the Bobino Theater in Paris to commemorate her fifty-year career. Many celebrities, including Princess Grace of Monaco and Sophia Loren, were in attendance to see 68-year-old Josephine dance and sing. Just days later, Josephine died of a brain hemorrhage.

Baker became one of the most sought-after performers due to her unique costumes, dancing, and sex appeal enticed people to see her performances. In France and the United States, her audiences were primarily white, and her performances followed African themes. She faced difficulty performing in the United States because the white backup dancers were not permitted to touch her Josephine, and it horrified how embedded racial inequality was in America. Her legacy lives on as she became one of the most successful African American performers in French history and the first African American female to star in a major motion picture, Zouzou (1934).

When Baker returned to the United States, she was confronted with racial segregation and discrimination that she seldomly faced back in France. She refused to perform to segregated audiences and forced club owners to integrate for her shows. Once the Stork Club refused her service after her performance at the Roxy Theater, she sued pro-segregation columnist Walter Winchell for defamation after he wrote about the incident in his column.