LIFE LESSONS FROM THE ORIGINAL GOAL-GETTERS

They’ve been there, done that – so who better than these fearless female trailblazers to give us savvy advice for everyday dilemmas?

JOSEPHINE BAKER on having it all

Women ‘having it all’ is a coded phrase for ‘having what men have’ – finding love, excelling at work, as well as looking after their families. Dancer, spy and activist Josephine Baker was born to a poor family in Missouri, but became the most highly paid entertainer in Europe – no mean feat for a black American woman. In 1937, she took French citizenship when she married a Frenchman, her third husband, and she went on to be honoured for her work for the French Resistance during the Second World War.

Josephine was also a mother: she adopted 12 children from different races and religions, calling them her ‘Rainbow Tribe’. So did she have it all? She was undoubtedly an extraordinary woman and her talents and influence are beyond the reach of most of us. However, there are always two ways of looking at a story: was Josephine a stripper, with four failed marriages, rejected by her homeland; or was she an astonishingly unique performer, one who had friendships and romantic relationships with men and women, a civil rights champion, a well-meaning mother and inspiring artist and war hero?

Most of us would be immensely proud to have anything near the kind of life she had, but it’s worth remembering that nobody gets it all right all the time. Having it all just means getting what you want on your terms, to the best of your abilities; and the fabulous Baker girl certainly did that.

“IT’S ALL ABOUT GETTING WHAT YOU WANT ON YOUR TERMS”