Born on June 3, 1906 in Saint-Louis, Missouri, Josephine Baker is a true icon of the Roaring Twenties and of the entire 20th century. A true star of the music hall in the United States, she left her country of origin in 1925 to join France.

“One day, I realized that I lived in a country where I was afraid of being black. It was a country reserved for white people. There was no place for black people. United States. A lot of us left, not because we wanted to, but because we couldn’t take it anymore… I felt liberated in Paris”, she confided later, as the relay the website of the Ministry of Culture.

It was in the capital that his career took off. Her talent as a dancer enjoyed great success in 1925 when she performed in the Champs-Élysées theater for the “Revue nègre”. Later, it is also her music that will make her famous. His title I have two loves is one of his greatest successes.

Beyond her undeniable talents in the field of culture, Josephine Baker is also a remarkable character for her commitment. In 1939, she decided to commit to the country she had adopted and became, in September, a French counterintelligence agent. In 1940, when the country was under occupation, she did not hesitate to join the secret services of Free France, until the Liberation.

To pay tribute to the courage and talent of Josephine Baker, she became, on November 30, 2021, the first black woman to enter the Pantheon.

Discover in our slideshow the photos of the tomb of this illustrious character.