Josephine Baker
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An American ex-patriot, Josephine Baker's career thrived in the integrated Paris society. Starring at the Follies-Bergère Theater she garnered celebrity status and by 1927, she earned more than any entertainer in Europe. A 1936 return to the United States to star in the Ziegfield Follies proved disastrous. American audiences rejected the idea of a black woman with so much sophistication and power. Newspaper reviews were equally cruel (The New York Times called her a "Negro wench"), and Josephine returned to Paris heartbroken. Josephine was later decorated for her undercover work for the French Resistance during World War II. She died in Paris in 1975 and became the first American woman to receive French military honors at her funeral. |
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