Josephine Baker is a dynamic revolutionary performer, movie star, fashion icon, hero of the French Resistance, humanitarian, and a mother of twelve adopted children of various ethnicities. And importantly she is a legacy of imagery and symbolism. From the start, the African American Josephine Baker, was a survivor. Far from the glitter and gaiety that characterized her beloved Paris, Baker’s beginnings were harsh and difficult. Born in the slums of St. Louis, Missouri in 1906, she grew up sleeping in cardboard shelters and scavenging for food in garbage cans. At the age of eight Baker was hired out to a white woman as a maid. She was forced to sleep in the coal cellar with a pet dog and was scalded on the hands when she used too much soap in laundry. She also witnessed the cruel East St. Louis race riot of 1917. She left school early for her age and was performing professionally at the age of thirteen. She left her parents’ house and got a job as a waitress until she encountered a group of performers called the Jones Family Band, that led her to her first stage debut at the Booker T. Washington Theatre, a black vaudeville house in St. Louis. By the age of eighteen, she was out of Missouri, had been discovered in New York and was performing with numerous troupes in various stage productions. She performed on Broadway in 1922, Shuffle Along and appeared as a star by 1924 in Chocolate Dandies. For a city that was bursting with spirit and rhythm of jazz, Baker was a perfect match. She was an entertainer and dancer, known for her contortionist positions and striking ebony features. "Because I was born in a cold city, because I felt cold throughout my childhood, I always wanted to dance on the stage". This was the reason why she was determined to become a dancer. She had already been married twice by this time, to Willie Wells (for a few weeks in 1919) and to Will Baker (for a short time in 1921). She took her second husband's name as her own – Josephine Baker. She left America and pursued performing internationally. Baker was a star in Paris for most of her adult life. She traveled to Paris in 1925 as part of stunning musical La Revue Negre and was on stage regularly as a variety dancer at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees. Here she made top salary compared to anyone other performers, which was $250 a week. African American performers were established in France already in the 1920’s so she did not feel out of place and quickly adapted to the new culture and European lifestyle. African American music had also existed in Europe before her arrival in Paris, and had penetrated to such European classical composers such as Debussy, Ravel, and Stravinsky since at least 1908. But Parisians became aware of jazz only in the 1920’s after Baker’s arrival with fascinating jazz singing and dancing. Her arrival in Paris also sparked the visual arts. African art and sculpture was one of the influences on the Cubist movement and Art Deco. Her oval head, lithe body, and “geometry” of her body inspired Cubist artists. With her beautiful body and frank sensuality, combined with her jovial clowning on stage, caused sensation and excitement for the audience. She was so successful in Paris that she stayed and opened her own nightclub called Chez Josephine. In addition to her beautiful appearance and performances, Baker was famous for her exotic outfits, her trademarks being a leopard on a leash, a skirt made of feathers, and a dance in which she wore a string of bananas and not much else. During the early 1930s, Baker toured Europe, recorded songs for Columbia Records, and starred in two films, Zou-Zou and Princess Tam-Tam. In 1935, Baker returned to the United States searching for the success she had in France. However, American audiences were not ready for a black woman with the style, grace, and sophistication that Baker possessed. In 1937, she married Jean Lion (third husband), a French sugar broker, and became a French citizen. However, the marriage ended 14 months later. As she became a citizen of France, during World War II, she devoted her time in politics and worked with the Resistance against the Nazis. With the rise of Hitler, Europe experienced a transformation that affected Baker in several ways. In a Europe split with hate and intolerance, Baker engaged in undercover work for the French Resistance during World War II. She became an "honorable correspondent" and became sub-lieutenant in the Women’s Auxiliary of the French Air Force. After the war she fought for civil rights in America, however returned to France and retired her career in 1956 to look after her twelve adopted children. Baker fell on hard times in the 1960’s but was rescued from destitution by Princess Grace of Monaco, who helped Baker put on another stage show, Josephine, in 1975. Baker died the same year from a stroke and was given a state funeral in Paris. Baker was a Parisian dancer and singer, the most famous expatriate in France. Although Baker’s life was full of struggles to overcome the difficulties and limitations, she lived her life passionately. She had four spouses, adoring audiences, and she closely related with celebrities such as Grace Kelly or Chevalier, and importantly politicians such as de Gaulle, Castro, and Mussolini. Many years after her death, Baker’s charm, vivacity, and captivation live on and so does her legend.