[New York Post] As Josephine Baker moved through international checkpoints in Spain and Morocco, the dancer and singer teased the agents who asked to see her papers, saying they just wanted her "autograph."Her official story was that she was on a "tour of Spain." She was really working as a spy for the resistance, with state secrets neatly hidden in her bra.
Baker took a gamble that no one would dare to strip-search her. She smiled her famous smile — she was at the time the most photographed woman in the world — as the documents stayed "snugly in place, secured by a safety pin."
Baker’s role as one of the true heroes of World War II, fighting against the Nazis at great risk to herself, is detailed in the new book "Agent Josephine: American Beauty, French Hero, British Spy" (PublicAffairs) by Damien Lewis. In 1961, she received a Legion D’Honneur, France’s highest decoration for military service, for her Spain and Morocco mission, and was commended for retrieving "precious information."