Ethan Trex and Mental_Floss present 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Josephine Baker. Here are three of my favorites…
1. SHE WAS A SPY.
When World War II rocked her adopted France, Baker didn’t simply move to a more peaceful country. Instead, she stuck around and did her part for the war effort. Since she had initially publicly supported Mussolini’s invasion of Ethiopia, the Axis powers mistakenly thought she was “one of them,” and Baker took full advantage of this misconception.
In fact, her fame made her the perfect spy. When Baker would travel Europe while touring, she obviously had to carry large quantities of sheet music with her. What customs officials never realized, though, was that a lot of this music actually had secret messages written on it in invisible ink. Fawning immigration officials never thought to take too close a look at the diva’s luggage, so she could sneak all sorts of things in and out of countries. On some occasions, Baker would smuggle secret photos of German military installations out of enemy territory by pinning them to her underwear.
This invaluable intelligence work eventually helped Baker rise to the rank of lieutenant in the Free French Air Force, and when the war was over she received both the Croix de Guerre (a first for an American woman) and the Medal of the Resistance in 1946.
2. A DUEL WAS FOUGHT IN HER NAME.
Lots of stars have devoted fans, but how many would be willing to fight a duel for their favorite diva? In 1928, a Hungarian cavalry officer and an Italian count did just that in Budapest. According to a contemporary account from Time, “the ogling and attentions of Hungarian Cavalry Captain Andrew Czlovoydi became too fervently gallant to be stomached by La Baker’s manager, Count Pepito di Albertini.” Rather than just ask Czlovoydi to knock it off, the Count took the reasonable step of challenging the soldier to a sword-fighting duel.
Fittingly, the two duelers met in a cemetery for their showdown while Baker cheered on the Count from a perch atop a tombstone. According to Time, the two men battled with swords for a solid 10 minutes before the Count took a light blow to the shoulder. At that point, Baker intervened and forced the two men to set aside their differences.
3. IN HER FORTIES AND FIFTIES, SHE ADOPTED A DOZEN CHILDREN.
Celebrities adopting children from underprivileged backgrounds may be old news at this point, but what Baker did in the 1950s is still shocking and fascinating. In an effort to combat racism and provide an example for the rest of the world to follow, Baker started adopting orphans from all corners of the world.
Baker started by adopting two Japanese children, and kept going until she had assembled a family of 12 children from a variety of countries and ethnicities. Baker dubbed them “the Rainbow Tribe,” and lived with the children in her chateau in southwestern France.
As part of her efforts, Baker also turned the chateau into a sort of resort/theme park with a multicultural theme, but it didn’t catch on quite as well as Epcot did. By 1968, the operation was hemorrhaging money, and Baker’s creditors had to sell the mansion out from under her.
