Contents
Josephine Baker
Becoming a Paris stage star and serving the French Resistance.
J’ai deux amours · Zouzou
- Born
- 3 June 1906
- Birthplace
- St Louis, Missouri, United States
- Died
- 12 April 1975
More people
Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker was an American-born French dancer, singer and actor whose fame grew in interwar Paris. She later used her position to support wartime intelligence work and oppose racial segregation.
Early life
St Louis childhood
Grew up in poverty and worked from a young age.
Touring performer
Joined stage companies and performed in New York before travelling abroad.
Career
- 1925
Paris breakthrough
Appeared in La Revue Nègre.
- 1920s–1930s
International entertainer
Developed a career in cabaret, recording and French film.
- 1939–1945
Wartime service
Helped French intelligence and Resistance networks.
- Postwar
Concerts and campaigning
Returned to performance while challenging segregation.
Selected work
J’ai deux amours
A song closely associated with her attachment to Paris.
Zouzou
Starred in a French musical film.
Joséphine
A Paris stage retrospective marking fifty years in show business.
Beyond work
Civil rights
Spoke at the 1963 March on Washington.
Adoptive family
Raised children from different national and cultural backgrounds.
Sources & photo credit
Biography ↗Life and work ↗Photo: Studio Harcourt. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
