Singer FKA twigs to play Josephine Baker in biopic of anti-racist legend

"Born into grinding poverty in St. Louis, Missouri, Baker became one of the first global superstars. But she refused to perform before segregated audiences in the United States and spent much of her life in France, eventually gaining French citizenship."

"She was the first black woman to be given a place in the Panthéon, where France's national heroes are buried, after helping the French Resistance during World War II and also spying on the Nazis for the British and US intelligence services."

"As well as aiding the Allied fight against fascism, Baker was a leading voice against racial discrimination in her homeland, and spoke alongside Martin Luther King Jr. at the 1963 march on Washington."

""I cannot wait" to bring "her fight, her love, her losses, her talent and her heroism to the big screen," the Grammy winner added. The movie will tell the "incredible story of the magnificent, incomparable" dancer and singer, its producers said at the Cannes Film Festival."

FKA twigs will portray Josephine Baker in a biopic set in the Roaring Twenties. Baker rose from poverty in St. Louis to become an early global superstar. She refused to perform for segregated audiences in the United States and later spent much of her life in France, where she gained citizenship. During World War II, she helped the French Resistance and spied on Nazis for British and US intelligence services. She became the first Black woman placed in France’s Panthéon. She also opposed racial discrimination and spoke alongside Martin Luther King Jr. at the 1963 March on Washington. Filming is scheduled to begin later this year, with StudioCanal working with Baker’s sons on the script.

Read at The Local France