Chapter Sixteen Josephine Baker: Performer, Spy, and Activist

Chapter Sixteen
Josephine Baker:
Performer, Spy, and Activist

One prominent cabaret singer was Josephine, who wore many
figurative and literal hats: rising popular cabaret singer, civil rights
activist, singer, actress, French spy (WWII). This courageous
superstar was born in St.Louis, Missouri (03/03/1906). Always
working and moving forward. She married at age 13 while working
as a waitress. In 1920, Josephine Baker joined the Jones Family
Band, according to CIA papers. In 1922, Josephine worked in NYC
during the Harlem Renaissance. Josephine was working with
legends such as Duke Ellington at the “Plantation Club” in
Harlem. One of her career goals was to be a performer for the
mighty Broadway shows. After being accepted into the show,
“Shuffle Along”. To differentiate herself while on the chorus line,
she added an element of humor to the dance, which eventually
became a pivotal part of the play. She was booked for the City of
Lights to continue her successful play.
In 1925, Paris was made for Josephine, and Josephine was made
for Paris; an initial spark occurred when she arrived during the
exciting 1920s. In 1926, Folies Bergere, the distinct and timeless
outfit (shirt/banana/little clothing). This dance and song of Danse
Sauvage, this sexual allure and brilliance. Thunder struck the
French. This was such a must-see performance; Ernest
Hemingway (before he was famous) stated, “The most sensational
woman anyone ever saw”. Josephine became the “It” person. Pablo
Picasso and Jean Cocteau wanted to make her acquaintance.

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Not only were celebrities awestruck, but it is also estimated that
1,000 requests via postage were made for her hand in marriage.
Acting became the next step; in 1927, Siren of the Tropics became
her first acting role. Josephine Baker was a goddess in France and
wanted to test her finesse in the United States.
In 1936, Ziegfeld Folies (Play) was her way to be a star in the
United States. This did not plan out accordingly, due to bigotry and
racism; New York theater critics were blunt to the point of heinous
cruelty. This was a reality check that the U.S was still the same on
the topic of racism. Due to her frustration with legal segregation
and rampant racism in the United States, Josephine became a
French citizen. This move proved to be the correct decision.
Josephine was widely successful and the highest-paid entertainer
in Europe. On the side of her work ethic, she verbally spoke out
against Nazi’s and participated in protests. (1939) At the height of
her career, Baker took the most bizarre turn into becoming a spy
for the French intelligence. French intelligence needed
information, but the challenge was figuring out how to transport
and exchange the information. Josephine would, in a covert
manner, relay information to Charles de Gaulle (the Former
President of France). This former president would attend
diplomatic gatherings/concerts to discover the imperative Nazi
agenda. The French Intelligence even used methods such as
having Josephine verbally insert information in her songs. The
Austrian Nazi’s were not her biggest fans, especially due to her
appearance. Austrian Aryans called her “the black devil”. Add the
fact that she was a booming success and openly bisexual. This did
not win favor with the Nazi’s for Josephine. According to CIA
stories,
“As an entertainer and celebrity, Josephine could easily move
around the country and socialize with German, Italian, and
Japanese bureaucrats at diplomatic functions, nightclubs, and in
café society without raising suspicion. She charmed and flattered
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1. Central Intelligence Agency, “Josephine Baker: From Poverty to Stardom to

Espionage,” accessed June 4, 2026, https://www.cia.gov/stories/story/josephine-
baker-poverty-to-stardom-to-espionage/.

guests, all the while collecting secrets on enemy troop movements
and the harbors and airfields used by the Axis Powers.
When German High Command received information that
Josephine was hiding resistance fighters, the Germans paid a visit
to her chateau. Against the odds, she deflected their suspicion but
knew it was time to leave France. Josephine and Abitey fled the
country; with them, they carried dozens of classified documents
and intelligence, all written in invisible ink. 1
On tour, any chance available, they would openly speak out against
racism in the United States. This presence created fear in the U.S
and its international relations in South America (1950s); U.S
embassies added challenges and roadblocks if she did not make
speeches anymore, and due to being French (an official citizen),
they were not able to prohibit he from entering. Josephine Baker,
in her effort to promote acceptance, adopted 12 children from
diverse cultural and physical backgrounds to foster love based on
their actions, not their looks. In the next phase, she was sick with
peritonitis in Morocco. In the midst of it all, she was still singing
and dancing at two events that would distract other agents and
gather the needed information. Josephine became a civil rights
activist in the United States in the 1960-70s, using music as an
effective tool. Famously, she stood next to Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr. during his 1963 speech in Washington. Josephine faced that
same crowd and stated, “You know, friends, that I do not lie when I
tell you I have walked into the palaces of kings and queens and
into the houses of presidents… But I could not walk into a hotel in
America and get a cup of coffee, and that made me mad. And
when I get mad, you know that I open my big mouth. And then

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2. Central Intelligence Agency, “Josephine Baker: From Poverty to Stardom to

Espionage,” accessed June 4, 2026, https://www.cia.gov/stories/story/josephine-
baker-poverty-to-stardom-to-espiona

look out ’cause when Josephine opens her mouth, they hear it all
over the world…”2
.

In 1961, earned the “croix de guerre” (The Cross of War) and the
Legion of Honor for courage and success in espionage. For nearly 2
years, Josephine provided secret information and microfilms to
individuals across Europe.