Josephine Baker

Also known as Freda Josephine Baker, Joséphine Baker

American-born French dancer, singer and actress (1906–1975)

AI overview

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.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Film & TV

St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald, naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French entertainer, activist, and French Resistance agent. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted France. During her early career she was renowned as a dancer, and was among the most celebrated performers to headline the revues of the…

Known for

Bardot — archive footage2025
The Century of Icons — Self (archive footage)2022
Josephine Baker, la fleur au fusil — Self (archive footage)2021
Madness Remixed — (archive footage)2021
Modeles Noirs, Regards Blancs — Self2020
France between the two wars — Elle-même2019
Josephine Baker: The Story of an Awakening — Self (archive footage)2018
Do I Look Like a Lady? (Comedians and Singers) — Self (archive footage)2016
Jornal Português (1938-1951) — Self (archive footage)2015
Paris: The Luminous Years2010

via TMDB

Wikidata facts

Instance of: human
Family name: Baker
Gender: female
Citizenship: France
Place of birth: St. Louis
Place of death: Paris
Occupation: entertainer
Languages spoken: English language
Religion: Catholicism
Genre: French pop
Movement: Harlem Renaissance
Instrument: voice
Record label: Columbia Graphophone Co. Ltd.
Conflict: World War II
Military branch: air force
Official website: www.cmgww.com/stars/baker
Image: Baker Harcourt 1940 2.jpg
Number of children: 12
Residence: Roquebrune-Cap-Martin

Show 17 more facts

Commons category: Joséphine Baker
date of birth: 1906-06-03
date of death: 1975-04-12
birth name: Freda Josephine McDonald
ethnic group: African Americans
Commons gallery: Josephine Baker
cause of death: cerebral hemorrhage
manner of death: natural causes
archives at: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
place of burial: Panthéon
start of work period: 1922-00-00
time period: 20th century
writing language: English language
dance style: erotic dancing
end of work period: 1975-00-00
member of: Freemasonry
has works in the collection: Anne Frank House

Sources (15)

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Encyclopedic overview

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.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Josephine Baker” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Josephine Baker

Film & TV

Known for

Wikidata facts

Encyclopedic overview

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