Josephine+Baker

Josephine Baker



Born June 3, 1906 in St. Louis, Illinois and April 12, 1975. She grew cleaning up houses and babysitting wealthy white families. At the age of 13 she got a waitressing at The Old Chauffer's Club were she met Willie Wells. She was married and divorced three more times to Willie Baker, Jean Lion (French), and Jo Boullion (French Orchestra leader). In 1919 she toured the United States with The Jones Family Band and The Dixie Steppers performing various comical scripts. After Josephine starred in //Shuffle Along// she traveled to Paris to start a new venture, La Revue Negre. Josephine's popularity afforded her comfortable salary, which spent mostly on clothes, jewelry, and pets. She loved animals, and at one time she had a leopard (Chiquita), a chimpanzee (Ethel), a pig (Albert), a snake (KiKi), a goat, a parrott, parakeets, fish, three cats and seven dogs. Josephine served France during World War II in several ways. She performed for troops, and was a honorable correspondent for the French Resistance and a sub-lieutenant in the Womens Auxiliary Air Force. She came back to the United States to hep fight racism. She went head-on media battle with pro-segregation columist Walter Winchell. The NAACP named on May 20 Josephine Baker day in her honors.