“Josephine Baker (June 3, 1906 – April 12, 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer, and actress. Nicknamed the “Bronze Venus”, the “Black Pearl”, and even the “Créole Goddess” in anglophone nations.

Baker was the first African American female to star in a major motion picture and to integrate an American concert hall, and to become a world-famous entertainer. She is also noted for her contributions to the Civil Rights Movement in the United States (she was offered the unofficial leadership of the movement by Coretta Scott King in 1968 following Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination, but turned it down), for assisting the French Resistance during World War II and for being the first American-born woman to receive the French military honor, the Croix de guerre”.

Photo: American entertainer Josephine Baker in costume for her famous “banana dance”. Baker was an overnight sensation when she arrived in Paris in the mid-1920s. (Photo by Walery/Getty Images)

American singer and dancer Josephine Baker has harnessed an ostrich to pull a racing sulky. (Photo by General Photographic Agency/Getty Images). Circa 1920

Singer and dancer Josephine Baker, sitting on a tiger rug. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). 1925

American born dancer and singer Josephine Baker arrives with her husband, orchestra leader Jo Bouillon in Buenos Aires. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). 19th June 1947

Singer, dancer and entertainer Josephine Baker, wearing a dress decorated with feathers. (Photo by General Photographic Agency/Getty Images). 1930

Josephine Baker, the American singer and dancer, entertains the troops at a London victory party. (Photo by Jack Esten/Getty Images). 1945

American singer and exotic dancer Josephine Baker, of the Parisian Folies Bergere, poses in one of her many elaborate costumes. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). Circa 1930

American singer and dancer Josephine Baker. (Photo by G. L. Manuel Freres/Hulton Archive/Getty Images). Circa 1920

American born singer and dancer Josephine Baker, surrounded by male dancers at the Folies Bergere. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images). 1926

American born dancer, jazz singer and entertainer Josephine Baker. (Photo by General Photographic Agency/Getty Images). Circa 1925

American dancer and singer Josephine Baker poses with a model of an elephant. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). 1925

American-born dancer and entertainer Josephine Baker. (Photo by General Photographic Agency/Getty Images). 1928

A wax firgure of burlesque dancer Josephine Baker stands on display at Madame Tussauds on December 19, 2008 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)