Josephine Baker (1906 - 1975)
Baker, who began her legendary fifty-year career as an entertainer in Harlem night clubs, appeared with the Revue Negre in Paris, becoming the sensation of Europe. As the star of the Folies Bergere, she epitomized the Jazz Age with her flamboyant and exuberant singing and dancing. Baker performed in numerous films, operettas, and revues. During World War II she was active in the French Resistance, receiving the Croix de Guerre, the Legion of Honor, and the Rosette of the Resistance. In later years she became active in the civil rights movement in the United States.
