By India Espy-Jones ·Updated May 15, 2026 < /> Getting your Trinity Audio player ready… It’s official: British musician FKA Twigs is the new Josephine Baker—in her upcoming biopic, that is. With shooting beginning in the fall, the film via French-Senegalese writer-director Maïmouna Doucouré is a feature-length depiction of Baker. It’s also Twigs’ first-ever biographical role and through it, she’s honoring the life of the St. Louis-born French entertainer, who was the first Black woman to star in a major motion picture: the 1927 French silent film Siren of the Tropics.
But, Twigs’ new role isn’t just because of their shared iconoclastic approach to entertainment. In Siren of the Tropics, Baker popularized the kiss curl, which is adecoding="async" src="https://media.essence.com/vxcjywbwpa/uploads/2026/05/GettyImages-1337213249-scaled.jpg" alt="7 Times FKA Twigs’ Beauty Looks Have Resembled Josephine Baker’s" width="400" height="611" />Josephine Baker performs in her last concert entitled “Josephine” at Bobino Theater in Paris. Baker, aged 69, died after the 14th performance from a cerebral hemorrhage at 5 a.m. on April 12, 1975. (Photo by James Andanson/Sygma via Getty Images)
@louissouvestre / Instagram Hard-Curled Updo 
Singer Josephine baker relaxes with a cocktail after a show in Venice, Italy circa 1940.(Photo by Archive Photos/Getty Images)
@louissouvestre / Instagram Micro Chelsea Cut 
(Original Caption) 10/3/1950-New York, NY: Josephine Baker, St. Louis-born entertainer, arrives aboard the French liner SS Liberte, Oct. 3. Her arrival marked the third time in 25 years that she’s touched her homeland. The ageless Miss baker was accompanied by her husband, orchestra leader Jo Boullion
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 05: FKA Twigs attends the 2025 Met Gala Celebrating “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 05, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/MG25/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue) Kiss Curls 
American-born dancer and entertainer Josephine Baker (1906 – 1975). (Photo by General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)
@fkatwigs / Instagram Raised Ponytail 
American Singer, dancer and actress Josephine Baker poses for a portrait in 1951 in Havana, Cuba.(Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
@louissouvestre / Instagram Slicked Back & Short 
(Original Caption) 1/23/28-Paris, France: Photo shows Josephine Baker, the dark star ofthe Follies Bergere, as directrice of her own bar, or cabaret. She seems to be “all business.” (Original Caption)
PARIS, FRANCE – OCTOBER 01: FKA Twigs arriving at Tom Ford during the Womenswear Spring Summer 2026 as part of Paris Fashion Week on October 01, 2025 in Paris, France. (Photo by Neil Mockford/GC Images) Black & Silver Coif 
American singer and dancer Josephine Baker portrayed in front of her dressing room mirror while maked up by Jean Clement, Venice 1949. (Photo by Archivio Cameraphoto Epoche/Getty Images)
@louissouvestre / InstagramTOPICS: fka twigs Josephine Baker
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