The famous singer and actress Josephine Baker shocked the audience not only with her outrageous numbers, but also with a fantastic sense of style. She caught trends, had exceptional taste in music and dance, as well as in clothes.
Difficult childhood
Born Josephine Baker, née McDonald, July 3, 1906 in St. Louis. Her mother was black dancer Carrie McDonald and her father was drummer Eddie Carson, although information about him is inaccurate. The couple was not married: a year after the appearance of their daughter, the father disappeared from their lives forever. But the bohemian spirit that was inherent in her parents remained forever in the blood of young Josephine.
Her hometown was distinguished by the fact that immigrants from different countries lived here, they exchanged their cultural traditions, creating a unique and vibrant mixture. It was this city of dance that formed the future star. When the girl was five years old, her mother remarried, and her stepfather adopted Carrie's children - this is how Josephine got an official father.
In July 1917, the Eastern Riot took place in St. Louis, ending in a massacre of the black population, inwhich killed more than 400 people. This event shocked the little girl: for the rest of her life she will retain a hatred of racial differences and will fiercely fight against inequality and oppression of people based on race. From childhood, Josephine loved to dance, by the age of 13 she had learned all the dances that were performed in her cosmopolitan city.
Growing up and dancing
At age 13, Josephine's mother marries Josephine to the rather elderly Willie Wells. At the same time, the girl takes her first steps on the big stage, she is given the opportunity to show several numbers at the Booker Washington Theater. Dance was her way of life, she later said that she always danced when she was happy, sad and even bitter. Dancing is her way of expressing herself.
At age 16, Josephine begins her professional career as a dancer, joining the Philadelphia Standard Theater troupe. Later, she moved to the theatrical Mecca of America - New York, where she manages to get a job in the corps de ballet in the popular vaudeville, with which she went on a six-month tour of the United States.
Three years have passed: the dancer took part in several projects, her performance in a nightclub was noticed by an agent who was just recruiting a troupe for La Revue Nègre. In October 1925, Josephine made her debut with a revue on the stage of the Parisian theater on the Champs Elysees. From this moment begins her path to success.
First success
Josephine's performance was the first time the French saw the Charleston, and it was a real culture shock for them. The success of the show was extraordinary:the black dancer embodied the exotic and unusual, every secular person considered it his duty to see her dance. Touring revues also took place in Brussels and Berlin, and everywhere Mademoiselle Baker was an incredible success with a touch of scandal.
Primous religious critics accused her of licentiousness and immorality, but the advanced layers took it with a bang. For example, German nudists perceived her as the embodiment of freedom and wanted to make her an honorary member of their society, but Josephine politely refused. Her revealing outfits, or rather, almost complete absence of them, caused the show, after numerous demonstrations, to be banned from touring in Vienna, Budapest, Munich and Prague.
Conquest of Europe
In 1926, Josephine Baker becomes a revue actress at the Folies Bergère in Paris. She is already the main star of the show, attracting a bohemian audience. The courage of the dancer, going on stage almost naked, attracted the audience, which had never seen such frankness even in Parisian cabarets before.
Josephine Baker has become a real superstar: a banana skirt shocked the people who came to her performance. Her naked body, exotic appearance and extravagant dances and costumes - all this was to the taste of Paris, which was permeated with avant-garde moods. The French bohemia favorably accepts the actress, poets dedicate poems to her, sculptors sculpt busts of a girl, artists paint her portraits. Architect Adolf Loos designs a whole house for her, Le Corbusier, inspired by her dance, creates a villa"Savoy", Gertrude Stein dedicates several poems to prose. Josephine is friendly with Picasso, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Matisse.
In 1927, she began acting in films, a number of films were released in which she played the main roles: Wild Dance, Folies Bergère, Siren of the Tropics, Zu-Zu. During this period, she was the highest paid cinema actress in Europe. Everyone was fascinated by the extravagant dancer, but by the end of the thirties her fame had subsided a little, and the Ziegfeld Follies show was expected to fail, but it was not in the tradition of a woman to suffer or give up for a long time. In 1937, Josephine Baker received French citizenship and rightfully began to consider this country her second home.
Jazz life
Josephine grew up in an era of the growing popularity of jazz, her very character corresponded to this music. She was lively, prone to impromptu and improvisation. Her dance combined several directions and even surpassed many of them, such as hip-hop and breakdancing.
In the 20s, Josephine begins to sing, and gradually it becomes her main occupation. As her fame as a dancer waned, she turned more and more to vocals. Josephine Baker has been a jazz singer since the late 1930s. She becomes very popular, her most famous songs: J'ai deux amours, Pretty Little Baby, Aux Îles Hawai - are released on records with thousands of copies.
War Years
Josephine Baker, whose photo adorned many posters, all her lifewas an ardent opponent of any discrimination, especially racial. When World War II began, she considered it her duty to defend her new homeland. The woman joined the Free French Volunteer Army and immediately offered assistance to President Charles de Gaulle.
She was a member of the circle of diplomats and, using her feminine charms, easily lured out military secrets. Later, the girl graduated from pilot courses and rose during the war years to the rank of junior lieutenant of the women's auxiliary squadron. She also supported the French resistance with money and connections. For her military exploits, Josephine was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor, the Military Cross, the Resistance and Liberation medals.
Peaceful life
At the end of the war, Josephine Baker returns to music and performances. A series of her exits from the stage and triumphant returns begins. She travels a lot around the world, trying to engage in various social activities. Her freedom-loving statements in America led to the fact that the FBI became interested in her and followed her for the rest of her life.
Even in her heyday, Josephine Baker bought the 15th-century Le Milande castle and implemented her ideas of justice there. She helped the poor, gave the inhabitants of the nearby village gifts for Christmas. Grateful people during the war were able to save the castle from ruin. After the end of the battles, Josephine organizes an international pilgrimage site there, implementing the Rainbow Tribe project. Her form of struggle for racialequality was the adoption of 12 children of different nationalities and races.
Unique style
Josephine was not only a famous dancer and singer, she gained fame as a trendsetter. So, Josephine Baker's haircut in the 20s became an example for Parisians who, trying to imitate her, ruthlessly cut their hair.
The woman grew up in poverty and therefore adored beautiful dresses, hats and jewelry all her life. Her outfits from famous couturiers could be the envy of any movie stars. If there were women in Paris who evoked a sigh of admiration at every appearance, then such was Josephine Baker. The style of the singer's hat caused general admiration. She had hundreds of headwear in her wardrobe, from exotic feathered pieces to turban headbands.
She also had a huge amount of jewelry, especially she loved pearls, which looked great on dark skin. The best hairdressers, such as Monsieur Antoine, dreamed of such a famous client as Josephine Baker, whose hairstyle attracted attention. He came up with a special styling for the dancer, which was kept during the dance. This in the 20s marked the beginning of the fashion for smooth hair with a wave.
Private life
Josephine Baker lived a stormy life. She was officially married five times, she is also credited with a huge number of novels with both men and women. Her last marriage to Jo Bullon lasted the longest, but the adoption of an eleventh child exhausted his patience. After the divorce, Baker's affairs went onworse, and in 1969 she sold the castle due to debts. She had to go on stage again. In 1975, she gives the premiere of the show "Josephine", which cost her a lot of effort. 4 days after the premiere, she left the world.
