Josephine Baker
Think Josephine Baker and you think glamour-wild, dangerous kind of glamour that makes you want to run off to Paris and do something reckless. Maybe you'd scandalize Parisian nightclubs, or work for the French Resistance. In fact, checking those two tasks off your to-do list would only give you a glimpse of what it was like to walk in Josephine's sequined, stiletto heels.
Not only did Josephine Baker break all the rules about feminine independence, but she exploded every idea about what a black woman could be by simply and elegantly refusing to recognize them. She was just too busy basking in international acclaim, entertaining dashing suitors, and even helping the French underground fight the Nazis. Who had time for stereotypes?
Josephine's spectacular success was even more remarkable given her destitute beginnings. She was born in the poorest section of St. Louis, lived in cardboard boxes, and rummaged for food in the streets. She waitressed at a nightclub when she was thirteen, and eventually landed a job as a dancer with a minstrel band. She went to Paris with the "Revue Negre" in 1925, and, although the show failed, the French were fascinated by Josephine's style-the original "Le Jazz Hot."
She returned to her homeland as an important spokesperson during the civil rights "March on Washington" in 1963, but would always consider Paris her real home. Her death in 1975 triggered an unprecedented national mourning, and she was given an elaborate state funeral-the first ever for a non-native French citizen.
Excerpted from the book Cool Women with permission of publisher, Girl Press.
Learn More About Josephine Baker
Britannica: Josephine Baker
http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article /2/0,5716,12001+1+11856,00.html
Read more about her life at Encyclopedia Brittanica.
CMG on Josephine Baker
http://www.cmgww.com/stars/baker/index.html
CMG, which now owns Baker's material, hosts this site with photos, quotes, biography, and music and film information
Artist Direct: Josephine Baker
http://imusic.artistdirect.com/showcase/contemporary/josephinebaker.html
Read about her, hear her music, and discuss Josephine Baker in the message boards at Artist Direct.
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