Josephine Baker

French dancer, singer, and actress Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald) was of American descent. Her professional life was mostly focused in Europe, particularly in her adopted France. She was the first black woman to play the lead role in a major motion picture, Mario Nalpas and Henri Étiévant's silent film Siren of the Tropics from 1927.

Josephine Baker was a well-known Jazz Age entertainer who identified as bisexual and worked throughout her life to advance equality for LGBT people, women, and people of color. Baker, who was born in 1906, didn't have a good childhood. She endured physical and sexual assault as a teen, seen and experienced extreme prejudice, and had periods of homelessness. As a result, after Baker reached the top and emerged as one of the most prominent African-American artists on French stages, she lent her voice and influence to the cause of civil rights. After Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed, Coretta Scott King offered her a leadership position within the movement, and she ended up speaking at the 1963 March on Washington.

Detailed information:
Full name: Freda Josephine McDonald
Date of birth: 3 June 1906
Date of death: 12 April 1975
Known for:

• Vedette, singer, dancer, actress,
• Civil rights activist
• French Resistance agent