39. She First Appeared on Stage as a Baby
Carrie McDonald and Eddie Carson, Josephine Baker’s mother and nominal father, were vaudeville performers who had a song-and-dance act that they put on whenever possible. When Josephine was a year old, her parents began incorporating her into their performance, and displayed her on stage during their act’s finale. Being on stage as a baby was an augury of things to come. Baker remained immersed in show business during her childhood, growing up in a neighborhood that housed many vaudeville theaters and entertainment venues.