A Biography of Josephine Baker

Josephine Baker was born Freda Josephine Carson in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 3, 1906 to washerwoman, Carrie McDonald, and vaudeville drummer, Eddie Carson. Josephine's father abandoned them shortly after her birth and her mother married a kind but perpetually unemployed man named Arthur Martin. Their family came to include a son and two more daughters. Josephine grew up cleaning houses and babysitting for wealthy white families until she got a job waitressing at The Old Chauffeur's Club when she was 13-years-old. While working there she met a man named Willie Wells whom she had a short marriage with.

Freda Josephine McDonald was born on June 3, 1906 in St. Louis, Missouri. Her father, Eddie Carson, a vaudeville drummer left Josephine’s mother Carrie McDonald soon after her birth. Her mother remarried an unemployed man named Arthur Martin, who was kind. Their family would grow to include a son and two more daughters. Josephine grew up cleaning houses and babysitting for wealthy white families.

Herstory." (Online). Available http://64.29.220.68/msherstory.asp, February 12, 2002. "National Organization for Women (NOW)". Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001 http://encarta.msn.com (12 Feb. 2002) "Roe v. Wade".

As a young girl she was raised by her grandparents because of her father's alcoholism, and untimely death. Her father left shortly after she was born and died later, unexpectedly of cerebral hemorrhaging, and her mother died of breast cancer. Pickfords first job was an assistant seamstress at age 6, to help pay for living expenses. Eleven years later she toured as a vaudeville actress. Once on broadway she acted in “The Warrens of Virginia” and many more.

For several years, Albert continued to travel and in 1893 Albert sent a letter to Jeanne saying that he was going to work as a waiter. Chanel’s mother, who gave birth to three other children, died on February 16, 1895 when Chanel was twelve. Chanel told her friend, Claude Baillèn that her mother had died of tuberculosis. Ann Gaines states, “Jeanne did have asthma, according to Charles-Roux, but the cause of her death was probably simply exhaustion and overwork.” (Coco Chanel 27-28). During the time of Jeanne’s death Albert was not home.

Twiggy exemplified the androgynous mod look that swept America as it had Britain and much of Europe in the 1960’s. She healthily maintained a 5 ft 6 1/2 inch 90 lb body. Based on her thin figure, a nickname of "Twiggy" was derived. Twiggy’s popularity not only produced many people who tried to look like her but also drastically increased the hourly wages of models. She paved the way for current top models like Kate Moss, Elle MacPherson, and Linda Evangelista.Twiggy was major trendsetter in America during the sixties even though she was born in England.

Online. Database. 18 Feb. 2004. Available http://photoswest.org/exhib/gallery4/leadin.htm Schulz, Diane R. "Speaking to Survival." Awakened Woman 19 Aug. 2001: 11 pars.

Goshen College Good Library. 3 Nov. 2002. "Oprah Winfrey.” Business Week. 14 Jan 2002: 56 Sellars, Patricia. "The Business of Being Oprah."

She has two older half-siblings on her mothers side that she has never met. Almost immediately after giving birth, Gladys Mortensen brought Norma to live with Ida and Albert Bolender, who raised her until she was seven years old. It isn’t clear why Gladys had someone else raise her little girl, but being a single mother working in the Great Depression wasn’t easy. Others believe she simply didn’t have the interest or commitment to raise a child. In 1933, after Norma’s 7th birthday, her mother took her back from foster care and decided that she would try raising her on her own.

Baker was born Freda Josephine McDonald on June 3,1906 in St. Louis, Missouri. She was the daughter of Carrie McDonald and Eddie Carson. Her mother was a washerwoman, she was former dancer and her father was vaudeville drummer. Carson didn’t not stay long after Baker was born, so she was raised by her step-father Arthur Martin. Martin was often unemployed during Bakers childhood, which forced her and her sibling to work from an early age.