African-American-born French dancer, singer, and actress; b. St. Louis, June 3, 1906; d. Paris, Apr. 12, 1979. Baker was a street musician and dancer by age 13. She toured on the vaudeville circuit and gained recognition in the show Chocolate Dandies (1924). Making her way to Paris in 1925, she starred in La Revue nègre, then the famous nightclub, the Folies-Bergère. Baker was an immediate hit in Paris, thanks to her talents as a singer and dancer and her exotic, revealing costumes, the most famous of which consisted of a string of bananas tied around her waist.

Baker remained a major star in Paris through the 1940s. In the 1930s she was featured in a number of films and starred in a revival of JACQUES OFFENBACH'S La Créole in 1934. During World War II, Baker entertained troops and assisted in the French Resistance during the Nazi occupation of France. After the war she turned to humanitarian causes, adopting orphans from various countries. She was also active in the U.S. civil rights movement.