In her heyday as the predominant star of the Folies Bergere in Paris, she rivalled Gloria Swanson and Mary Pickford as the most photographed woman in the world, and by 1927 she earned more than any entertainer in Europe. Ernest Hemingway described her as "the most sensational woman anyone ever saw."
On her early attempts to return to the stage in her homeland of the USA, Josephine was initially rejected by the bigots in the audience and the media. But she vigorously campaigned throughout the 50s and 60s to fight racism. When New York's popular Stork Club refused her service, she engaged a head-on media battle with pro-segregation columnist Walter Winchell. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) named May 20 Josephine Baker Day in honour of her efforts.
In her own words: "You've got to fight every single day. When I see a roach, I step on it."
When she died in 1975, more than 20,000 people crowded the streets of Paris to watch the funeral procession on its way to the Church of the Madeleine. The French government honored her with a 21-gun salute, making Josephine Baker the first American woman buried in France with military honors.
A true star!
Josephine Baker biography on Wikipedia
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please leave a message - I value your comments!
[NB Bear with me if there is a delay - thanks to spammers I might need to approve comments]