BAKER, JOSEPHINE

BAKER, JOSEPHINE Born Freda Josephine McDonald in 1906, Josephine Baker was a sensational singer and dancer during the 1920 - 1940 time-frame. She was an American-born African American who became a French citizen in 1937. Nicknamed "Black Venus" and "Black Pearl," she was mostly noted as a singer, but in her earlier years was a celebrated dancer. During World War II, she worked for the French Resistance in opposition to German territorial control of France. She died in Paris in 1975, having performed in France for a half-century.