At the age of 13, Miss Baker Josephine Baker left St. Louis for New York City to join a Chorus Vaudeville show. In 1921, she secured a role in the touring production of a Broadway revue as part of the chorus line. To differentiate herself from the other dancers, she incorporated comedy into her routine. At the age of 19, in 1925, she travelled to Paris and made her debut on 2 October in La Revue Nègre at Theatre Des.
Her provocative dancing and nude appearances on stage immediately captivated audiences, and she became a sensation. Her most iconic costume featured a short skirt adorned with artificial bananas and a large beaded necklace, symbolizing the Jazz Age and Roaring Twenties. Achieving fame in France first during the twenties, she also became one of the first black women from the USA to star in the silent film Siren of the Tropics, made in Paris in 1927.
Josephine Baker
1939: France declares war on Germany. Josephine Baker was recruited as a spy by the French military intelligence agency responsible for counterintelligence.
Being a socialite, she had contact with German embassies and other ministries through nightclubs and charm. She attended parties and gathered information at the embassy without suspicion. She was awarded the Resistance Medal by General Charles de Gaull.
Furthermore, she received an invitation in 1951 to return to the US for a nightclub performance in Miami, which led to a successful national tour. This opportunity came after she fought for desegregation of the club’s audience. In 1968, Coretta Scott King offered her the official leadership role in the movement following Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, but she declined due to concerns for her children’s safety.
- Palm Up: Holding The Power Over The Audience
- Elephant Trance Silhouette Of Powerful Being
- Bananas: The Exotic Wild Dance Of Dark Africa Savage
- Josephine Baker, From Humble Beginnings To International Star
Josephine Baker
She was amazing.
Chris Dale
Date of birth: Freda Josephine McDonald, 3 June 1906, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Date of death: January 29, 2006, 12 April 1975 (aged 68) Paris, France
