JOSEPHINE BAKER Biography - Musicians

 
 

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JOSEPHINE BAKER

Name: Josephine Baker                                                               
Birth name: Freda Josephine Carson                                                   
Born: 3 June 1906 St. Louis, Missouri                                               
Died: 12 April 1975, Paris, France                                                   
                                                                                     
Josephine Baker (or Josephine Baker in francophone countries) (June 3, 1906 -       
April 12, 1975) was an American-born French expatriate entertainer and singer.       
She became a French citizen in 1937. Baker was most noted as a singer, while in     
her early career she was a celebrated dancer. She was given the nicknames the "Black 
Venus" or the "Black Pearl", as well as the "Creole Goddess" in anglophone           
nations, while in France she has always been known in the old theatrical             
tradition as "La Baker".                                                             
                                                                                     
Josephine Baker is noted for being the first woman of African descent to star in     
a major motion picture, to integrate an American concert hall, and to become a       
world famous entertainer. She is also noted for her contributions to the Civil       
Rights Movement in the United States, and for being an inspiration to               
generations of African-American female entertainers.