Josephine Baker was not born into riches. She came from a poor background. She was born on  June 3, 1906, as Freda Josephine McDonald. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri in a rundown area. She was adopted. She had no clue who her real father was, and her stepfather never had a stable income. These were the conditions she was brought up in. Carrie, Josephine’s mother, was a performer. To make ends meet she used to go around the town to perform her song and dance act. She could not leave an infant behind so she had no option but to take the baby along. When she was one, even then Josephine was on the stage with her mom. This was her preparation for the future, but there was no knowing. These were her baby steps towards fame.

One can imagine that if Josephine came from such a humble background and grew up among a large number of kids she did not have the fanciest of clothes. Mostly her clothes were dirty, second hand and very basic. Neither she nor people around her could have known that she would get to wear the most gorgeous and fabulous clothes of the time. But how did she get there? And what role did she play in the war?

Marriage As An Escape

At the early teenage of 13, Josephine had developed strong survival instincts. She was working as a waitress at a local restaurant. Her primary concerns at that time were to have a roof over her head and at least 2 meals a day- the bare minimum a person needs to survive. Strong willed as she was, she was still very young- she thought it would be a good idea to get married- it would at least complete the requirements mentioned above. Sadly for her, she was mistaken.