Freida Josephine McDonald sunrise 6/3/1906 St. Louis, MO, sunset 4/12/1975 Paris, France.
AKA Josephine Baker, “Black Pearl”, “Creole Goddess” and “Bronze Venus”.
She was a dancer, singer, actress, and activist.
She was married four times and had 12 children known as “The Rainbow Tribe” because of their different ethnicities and nationalities.
She was bisexual and had an affair with Frida Kahlo.
She renounced her U.S. citizenship and moved to Paris and became a French citizen.
She was the only American-born woman to receive a full French military honors at her funeral.
She was portrayed by Diana Ross and Lynn Whitfield.
Coretta Scott King asked her to be the new leader of the Civil Rights movement after MLK Jr. was assassinated, she declined because of fears about the safety of her family.
She was the first black person to be a global artist and star in a major motion picture.
She refused to perform for a segregated audience and was not allowed to perform in places because of segregation.
She said: “I have two loves, my country and Paris.”
Ernest Hemingway said of her that she was “ . . . the most sensational woman anyone every saw.”
On the 111th anniversary of her birth, Google honored her with a google doodle.