Intimate Portrait: Josephine Baker(1999)

Intimate Portrait: Josephine Baker is a documentary that traces the remarkable life of the Jazz Age icon who became a WWII spy and pioneering civil rights activist. Narrated by Arsenio Hall, the film weaves together rare archival footage and interviews with Debbie Allen, Lynn Whitfield (who played Baker in The Josephine Baker Story), and two of Baker's sons to reveal the woman behind the legend. From her explosive rise as a performer to her dangerous work in the French Resistance and her fearless advocacy for racial equality, Josephine Baker emerges as a complex figure whose impact extended far beyond the stage. The documentary captures both her glamorous public persona and her private commitment to social justice, offering an intimate portrait of an artist who refused to accept the racial barriers of her era.