Josephine Baker was born into acute poverty in St Louis, USA. She became a dresser for the black revue show, Shuffle Along, but she was determined to dance. She learnt routines enabling her to step in when a dancer left. A moderate success, she travelled to Paris in 1925 to appear in the Revue Negre where she was an extraordinary hit. She was painted by Picasso and by 1927 was the highest earning woman entertainer in Europe. She also appeared in several films, studied ballet with Balanchin and danced in the Ziegfeld Follies.
During WWII, she became part of the French resistance and was awarded a medal for her work. In the 50s and 60s, she championed the black civil rights cause in the USA, as well as adopting twelve children of different nationalities, her "rainbow tribe".
