A show about Jazz Age icon and civil rights activist Josephine Baker could soon be dancing its way to the screen. Studiocanal, CPB Films, and Leyland Films are developing “a high-end English-language drama series” about Baker, who grew up in poverty in St. Louis and ended up becoming “the world’s first Black global star performer” — not to mention the only woman to speak at the 1963 March on Washington. Variety broke the news.
The untitled project is described as “an ambitious and creatively inspiring TV series” that’s “not too much of a classic biopic.” “Once we have a writer or showrunner who brings something bold and original to the table, which also matches our ideas and research, we will be able to see how we get the series developed,” said Françoise Guyonnet, Studiocanal executive managing director for TV series.
Studiocanal will oversee international distribution. Baker’s family has given the venture their blessing and support, and Baker’s son Jean-Claude Bouillon Baker will serve as consultant.
Married twice by age 15, Baker was a vaudeville performer before joining the chorus lines of Broadway revues “Shuffle Along” and “The Chocolate Dandies.” “She got her big break after she moved to France, proving to be a sensation when she appeared on stage at the legendary Paris cabaret Folies Bergère in 1926,” the source details. “Accompanied on stage in later performances by her pet cheetah, Baker quickly become an icon of female sexual liberty in the jazz age in Paris, a city which was by then Europe’s cultural capital, home to Ernest Hemingway, a friend of Baker’s, and Picasso, who sketched her.”
Baker wasn’t just a legendary entertainer who has inspired the likes of Beyoncé and Shirley Bassey: she was also a force for social justice. The trailblazer was part of the French resistance during WWII, worked with the NAACP, refused to perform in segregated clubs in the U.S., and, of course, participated in and spoke at the March on Washington with MLK.
“She was a great artist and performer but also somebody who knew that she could leverage her fame and audiences for causes bigger than just her own career, which is very rare, and these causes — feminism, gender and racial equality — are obviously still relevant today,” said CFB Films’ Marco Cherqui.
“Josephine Baker was a totally modern woman who helped other Black performers, bringing them to France, where they discovered a far larger freedom,” added Jerôme Vignac, head of Leyland Films.
Baker died in 1975 at the age of 68. “Zouzou,” “Princesse Tam-Tam,” and “Siren of the Tropics” are among her screen credits.
Last year, “Precious” actress Paula Patton acquired the rights to Sherry Jones’ biographical novel “Josephine Baker’s Last Dance,” with plans to star in and produce an adaptation.
