Josephine Baker – A Renaissance Woman
Josephine was an iconic dancer, singer and entertainer. She was the first African American woman to star in a motion picture, to perform with an integrated cast at the American concert hall, and one of the first African American entertainers who achieved acclaim both in movies and on the stage.
Born in June in America, Baker danced in several Vaudeville shows and was part of the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s. She performed in Broadway chorus lines such as Shuffle Along before moving to Paris aged 19 where her career thrived.
She dazzled audiences by dancing the Charleston for the first time, symbolizing for some the potential liberation of women in a period when clothing had become looser and movement less inhibited. Her performances at the Théatre des Champs-Elysées (a venue which remains open today) cemented Josephine’s status as an artist and style icon.
Her emergence as a dancer and performer helped define and shape the spirit of the “jazz age” in the capital. Her headline performances at the Folies Bergère in Paris (a club still open today) were renowned, including her Danse Sauvage of which she said:
“I wasn’t really naked. I simply didn’t have any clothes on“.
This is where Josephine debuted her iconic “banana skirt” in 1925, as part of a new show titled La Folie du Jour.
In 1930 Josephine debuted what was perhaps her most successful show, entitled Paris qui Remue. It featured a live cheetah named Chiquita and saw her debut her hit song ‘J’ai deux amours’. Proceeds from the show were donated to charities including the Red Cross.
During the 1950s, Baker returned to the United States and supported the Civil Rights Movement boycotting segregated clubs and concert venues. Because of her criticisms she was accused of being a communist sympathiser which resulted in her US work visa being rescinded. She would not return to the US for over a decade.
Not only was she an incredible performer, she was also a French Resistance agent, for which she was awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honour.
In 1974 she would perform in the Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium. Josephine sadly passed away the following year during the celebration of the 50th anniversary of her Paris debut.
At her funeral, military officials performed a 21-gun salute– the first such honour to have been given an American woman laid to rest in France. France and Parisians have gratefully adopted her in turn as their own, and she has left a deep imprint on the city and its cultural history.
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