“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)

Lesley Sutcliffe shelters from the rain next to a life-sized replica of the innermost coffin of King Tutankhamun by artist Amanda Stoner as it goes on display inside a traditional red telephone box which has been converted into museum, in Barnsley, South Yorkshire on Tuesday, November 15, 2022. The piece has been installed as part of Barnsley Museum's plan to showcase culture in unexpected places. (Photo by Danny Lawson/PA Images via Getty Images)

Kelsey Smith of New Zealand gets her stick caught on the shorts of Hollie Pearne-Webb of England during Women's Semi Final Hockey match between England and New Zealand on day eight of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast Hockey Centre on April 12, 2018 on the Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

A boy listens to a prayer before he and other relatives visit the grave of their loved ones, all minors, who were killed a year ago during the government's war on drugs campaign, at the Tala Cemetery in Caloocan, east of Manila on December 28, 2017, as the world commemorates Holy Innocents' Day. Catholics celebrate the biblical passage when King Herodes the great ordered to kill all newborn babies to kill Jesus Christ. (Photo by Noel Celis/AFP Photo)

Mud Day Queen Riley Tulgetske, left, embraces Mud Day King Phoenix Crowder during Mud Day at the Nankin Mills Park, Tuesday, July 9, 2019, in Westland, Mich. The annual day is for kids 12 years old and younger. While parents might be welcome, this isn't an event meant for teens or adults. It's all about the kids having some good, unclean fun during their summer break and is sponsored by the Wayne County Parks. (Photo by Carlos Osorio/AP Photo)

Jeepneys are seen as an enforcer manages traffic at a busy street in Manila on May 30, 2017. Jeepneys, once hailed as the “King of the Road” and a cultural symbol in the Phillipines to rival New York's yellow taxis, may soon disappear from Manila's gridlocked streets, as authorities move to phase out the Philippines' iconic World War II-era minibuses, citing pollution and safety concerns. (Photo by Noel Celis/AFP Photo)

Prince Philippe and Princess Letizia of Spain meet with Israeli president Shimon Peres at the presidential residence on April 11, 2011 in Jerusalem, Israel. The Spanish Royal couple is on their first official visit to Israel together. The Prince's parents, the King and Queen of Spain last visited in 1993.

A new 3D IMAX screen is installed at IMAX Darling Harbour on February 9, 2012 in Sydney, Australia. The new 3D screen at 29.5 metres by 35.7 metres will replace the former screen at IMAX Darling Harbour as the largest in the world. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)