African American Women in Cinema - Filmmakers, Producers, Movies
HonorJosephineBaker.org is a tribute to the legendary Josephine Baker (1906-1975) and the headquarters of the petition calling for an Oscar to be awarded to Josephine Baker Posthumously. Josephine Baker became one of the best-known entertainers in both France and much of Europe. Her exotic, sensual act reinforced the creative images coming out of the Harlem Renaissance in America.
Born Freda Josephine McDonald in St. Louis, Missouri, she later took the name Baker from her second husband, Willie Baker, whom she married at age 15.
Surviving the 1917 riots in East St. Louis, Illinois, where the family was living, Josephine ran away a few years alter at age thirteen and began dancing in vaudeville and on Broadway. In 1925, Josephine Baker went to Paris where, after the jazz revue La Revue Nègre failed, her comic ability and jazz dancing drew attention of the director of the Folies Bergère.
African American Women in Cinema - Filmmakers, Producers, Movies