Famous singer and actress Josephine Bakershocked the audience not only with its outrageous numbers, but also with a fantastic sense of style. She captured trends, had an exceptional taste in music and dance, and in clothes.
Difficult childhood
Josephine Baker, nee MacDonald, was bornJuly 3, 1906 in St. Louis. Her mother was a black dancer, Carrie MacDonald, and her father was drummer Eddie Carson, although the information about him is inaccurate. The couple was not married: just a year after the appearance of their daughter, the father disappeared forever from their lives. But the bohemian spirit, which was inherent in parents, forever remained in the blood of young Josephine.
Her hometown was different because hereEmigrants from different countries lived, they exchanged their cultural traditions, creating a unique and vibrant mixture. It was this city of dance that formed the future star. When the girl was five years old, her mother married again, and her stepfather adopted the children of Carrie - so Josephine had an official father.
In July 1917, the Easta riot ended in a mass slaughter of the black population, in which more than 400 people died. This event shocked the little girl: for the rest of her life, she will retain her hatred of racial differences and will violently fight against the inequality and oppression of people on a racial basis. Since childhood, Josephine loved to dance, by the age of 13 she learned all the dances that were performed in her multi-ethnic city.
Growing up and dancing
At age 13, Josephine’s mother marries a prettyan elderly willie wells. At the same time, the girl takes her first steps on the big stage, she is given the opportunity to show several rooms in the Booker Washington Theater. The dance was her way of life, she said afterwards that she always danced when she was having fun, sad and even bitter. Dance is her way of expression.
At 16, Josephine begins her professional career.a dancer's career, joining the troupe of the Philadelphia Standard Theater. Later, she moved to America’s theater mecca, New York, where she manages to get a corps de ballet in a popular vaudeville, with which she went on a six-month US tour.
Three years have passed:the dancer took part in several projects; her performance at a nightclub was noticed by an agent who was just recruiting a troupe for La Revue Nègre. In October 1925, Josephine debuted with a revue on the stage of the Paris theater on the Champs Elysees. From this moment begins her path to success.
First success
Josephine performed by the French for the first time.Charleston, and it was a real cultural shock for them. The success of the show was extraordinary: the black dancer embodied the exotic and unusual, each socialite considered it his duty to see her dance. The revue tour was also held in Brussels and Berlin, and everywhere, Mademoiselle Baker was waiting for incredible success with a touch of scandal.
Prim religious critics accused her oflicentiousness and immorality, but the advanced layers took "with a bang." For example, German nudists took it as the embodiment of freedom and wanted to make an honorary member of their society, but Josephine politely refused. Her frank outfits, or rather, their almost complete absence, caused the show, after numerous demonstrations, to be banned from touring in Vienna, Budapest, Munich and Prague.
Conquest of Europe
In 1926, Josephine Baker becomes an actressReview at the Paris Folies Bergere Theater. She is already the main star of the show, attracting a bohemian audience. The courage of the dancer, coming out on the stage almost naked, attracted the audience, who had never seen such frankness even in Parisian cabarets.
This superstar was Josephine Baker:banana skirt shocked the people who came to her performance. Her naked body, exotic looks and extravagant dances and costumes - all this had to taste Paris, which was permeated with avant-garde moods. The actress is favorably received by French Bohemia, the poets dedicate poems to her, sculptors mold the busts of the girl, the artists paint her portraits. Architect Adolph Loos designs for her a whole house, Le Corbusier, inspired by her dance, creates the Savoy Villa, Gertrude Stein devotes several prose poems. Josephine is friendly with Picasso, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Matisse.
In 1927, she begins to act in films,There are a number of films in which she plays the main roles: “Wild Dance”, “Foley-Bergere”, “Siren of the Tropics”, “Zu-Zu”. During this period she was the highest paid film actress in Europe. Everyone was fascinated by an extravagant dancer, but by the end of the thirties her fame had subsided a bit, and the Ziegfeld Follies show was failing, but it wasn’t in the tradition of a woman to suffer or give up for a long time. In 1937, Josephine Baker received French citizenship and rightfully began to consider this country as her second homeland.
Jazz life
Josephine grew up in an era of growing popularityjazz, her very nature corresponded to this music. She was lively, prone to impromptu and improvisation. Her dance combined several directions and even surpassed many of them, such as hip-hop and break dance.
In the 20s Josephine begins to sing, and graduallyit becomes her main occupation. As her fame as a dancer diminished, she turned more and more to vocals. Since the late 30s Josephine Baker - jazz singer. She becomes very popular, her most famous songs: J’ai deux amours, Pretty Little Baby, Aux Îles Hawai - come out with records with many thousands of copies.
Years of War
Josephine Baker, whose photos are decorated with manyposters, all my life, have been an ardent opponent of any discrimination, especially racial one. When World War II began, she considered it her duty to defend her new homeland. The woman joined the Free French Volunteer Army and immediately offered help to President Charles de Gaulle.
She was a member of the circle of diplomats and, taking advantage ofhis female charms, easily lured military secrets. Later, she graduated from the courses of pilots and rose during the war years to the rank of junior lieutenant of the female auxiliary squadron. She also supported French resistance with money and connections. For her military exploits, Josephine was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor, "Military Cross", medals "Resistance" and "For Liberation".
Peaceful life
At the end of the war, Josephine Bakerreturns to music and performances. A series of her departures from the stage and triumphant returns begins. She travels a lot around the world, trying to engage in various social activities. Her freedom-loving remarks in America led to the fact that the FBI became interested in her and followed her to the end of her life.
Ещё во времена своего расцвета Жозефина Бейкер I bought the castle "Le Miland" of the 15th century and realized my ideas of justice there. She helped the poor, gave the residents of a nearby village gifts for Christmas. Grateful people during the war could save the castle from ruin. After the end of the battles, Josephine organizes a place of international pilgrimage there, implementing the Rainbow Tribe project. Her form of struggle for racial equality was the adoption of 12 children of different nationalities and races.
Unique style
Josephine was not only a famous dancer andsinger, she gained fame as a trendsetter. So, Josephine Baker's haircut in the 20s became an example for Parisians, who, trying to imitate her, ruthlessly cut their hair.
The woman grew up in poverty and therefore all her lifeadored beautiful dresses, hats and jewelry. Her outfits from famous fashion designers could envy any movie stars. If there were women in Paris who were sighing admiration at every appearance, then so was Josephine Baker. The style of the singer's hat caused widespread admiration. In her wardrobe there were hundreds of hats: from exotic items with feathers to dressings in the form of turban.
She also had a huge amount of jewelry,She especially loved pearls, which looked great on dark skin. The best hairdressers, such as Monsieur Antoine, dreamed of such a famous client, as Josephine Baker, whose hairstyle attracted attention. He invented a special style for the dancer, which was held during the dance. This in the 20s marked the beginning of fashion on smooth hair with a wave.
Personal life
Josephine Baker lived a tumultuous life.She was officially married five times, she is also credited with a huge number of novels with both men and women. Her last marriage with Jo Bullon lasted the longest, but the adoption of the eleventh child has exhausted his patience. After the divorce, Baker went from bad to worse, and in 1969 she sold the castle because of her debts. She had to go on stage again. In 1975, she gives the premiere of the Josephine show, which cost her a lot of effort. 4 days after the premiere, she left the world.
