1880 – 1914
Dancer / Choreographer / Singer
One of the first Black choreographers on the American stage. Among the first international
Black stars, she toured Europe with Bert Williams and her husband, George Walker, in the hit
musicals they wrote and produced. Following George Walker’s illness and death, in 1911, she
kept working, frequently in drag, performing her husband’s numbers in tribute. Carl Van Vechten
wrote rapturously about Walker’s cakewalk dancing. Reviewers were equally impressed with her
“Salome.” A breathtaking beauty, she died young, age 34, from kidney failure.