Josephine Baker, born Freda Josephine McDonald, was an American-French dancer, actress and singer. She was given the nicknames "Black Venus," "Black Pearl" and "Creole Goddess." Although born American, she became a French citizen in 1937. she was the most successful American entertainer working in France—whereas in the U.S., she would have suffered from the racial prejudices common to the era. Ernest Hemingway called her "the most sensational woman anyone ever saw." She was so well-known and popular that even the Nazis, who occupied France during World War II were hesitant to cause her harm. In turn, this allowed Baker to show her loyalty to her adopted country by participating in the Underground. After the war, Baker was awarded the Croix de Guerre for her underground activity. Yet despite her popularity in France, she was never really able to obtain the same reputation at home. Upon a visit to the United States in 1936. she was allegedly at a dinner party and began to speak in French as well as English with a French accent. An African-American maid was reputed to tell her, "Honey, you is full of shit. Speak the way yo' mouth was born". She had the woman fired. In 1973, Josephine Baker opened at Carnegie Hall to a standing ovation. She wept openly onstage in response to the warm welcome. Though based in France, she supported the American Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s, and protested racism in her own unique way, adopting twelve multi-ethnic orphans, whom she called her "Rainbow Tribe." In 1963, she spoke at the March on Washington at the side of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Wearing her Free French uniform with her Legion of Honor decoration, she was the only woman to speak at the rally. On tours of the United States, she refused to perform in segregated nightclubs, and her insistence on mixed audiences helped to integrate shows in Las Vegas, Nevada. Nevertheless, her career was on a downturn and she was near bankruptcy until she was bailed out and given an apartment by her close friend, Princess Grace of Monaco, another expatriate American living in Europe. During her life, she was also a great figure of the French freemasonry, fighting for freedom, civil rights, equality and against racism in France and other countries.
-wikipedia
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