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| partner = Robert Brady (1973–75) | module = }} Josephine Baker (3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer, and actress who came to be known in various circles as the "Black Pearl," "Bronze Venus" and even the "Creole Goddess". Born Freda Josephine McDonald in St. Louis, Missouri, Josephine Baker became a citizen of France in 1937. She was fluent in both English and French. Baker was the first black woman to star in a major motion picture, ''Zouzou'' (1934), or to become a world-famous entertainer. Baker refused to perform for segregated audiences in the United States and is noted for her contributions to the Civil Rights Movement. In 1968 she was offered unofficial leadership in the movement in the United States by Coretta Scott King, following Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination. Baker turned down the offer. She was also known for assisting the French Resistance during World War II,〔 and received the French military honor, the Croix de guerre and was made a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur by General Charles de Gaulle. ==Early life== She was born as Freda Josephine McDonald in St. Louis, Missouri,〔〔 the daughter of Carrie McDonald. Her estate identifies vaudeville drummer Eddie Carson as her natural father; Carson abandoned Baker and her mother. Carrie and Eddie had a song-and-dance act, playing wherever they could get work. When Josephine was about a year old they began to carry her onstage occasionally during their finale. Josephine was always poorly dressed and hungry, and she played in the railroad yards of Union Station. From this she developed her street smarts. When Baker was eight, she began working as a live-in domestic for white families in St. Louis. One woman abused her, burning Baker's hands when the young girl put too much soap in the laundry. In Baker’s early life she struggled with having a healthy relationship with her mother, Carrie McDonald. McDonald did not believe dance was a real form of work and scolded Josephine for not tending to her current husband, Willie Baker. Although Baker returned after traveling with gifts and money for her mother and younger sister, the turmoil of the relationship between Baker and her mother pushed Baker towards her first trip to France. Baker’s talent was ridiculed so harshly by the United States she decided not to go to her sister’s funeral in St. Louis. Instead Baker opted to send money to cover the funeral expenses but did not return.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Josephine Baker」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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