Josephine Baker
Sign in to saveAmerican-born French dancer, singer and actress (1906–1975)
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Josephine Baker was an American-born entertainer who became a major star in France during the early 20th century, known for her work as a dancer, singer, and actress. She is historically significant as a groundbreaking performer who achieved international fame and later became involved in civil rights activism.
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Person · Open Library
- Born
- 1906
- Died
- 1975
- Works
- 15
Top works
- Josephine Baker vue par la presse française
- Fearless and Free
- Memoiren
- Paměti Josefiny Bakerové
- La tribu arc-en-ciel
via Open Library + Wikidata
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 50,158
- Total plays
- 312,144
Article
Freda Josephine Baker (née McDonald; June 3, 1906 – April 12, 1975), also spelled Joséphine Baker, was an American and French dancer, singer, and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in France. She was the first Black woman to star in a major motion picture, the 1927 French silent film Siren of the Tropics, directed by Mario Nalpas and Henri Étiévant.
During her early career, Baker was among the most celebrated performers to headline the revues of the Folies Bergère in Paris. Her performance in its 1927 revue Un vent de folie caused a sensation in the city. Her costume, consisting only of a short skirt of artificial bananas and a beaded necklace, became an iconic image and a symbol both of the Jazz Age and the Roaring Twenties. Baker was celebrated by artists and intellectuals of the era, who variously dubbed her the "Black Venus", the "Black Pearl", the "Bronze Venus", and the "Creole Goddess". Born in St. Louis, Missouri, she renounced her U.S. citizenship and became a French national after her marriage to French industrialist Jean Lion in 1937. She adopted 12 children, whom she referred to as the Rainbow Tribe, and raised them in France.
Gallery (12)
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Categories
1906 births1975 deaths20th-century African-American military personnel20th-century African-American women singers20th-century American LGBTQ people20th-century American singers20th-century American women singers20th-century French actresses20th-century French LGBTQ people20th-century French women singersActresses from St. LouisAfrican-American Catholics