Margaret Valiant

Margaret Valiant (February 22, 1901 – ) was an American musician, folklorist, ethnomusicologist and activist.

Early life Margaret Valiant was born on February 22, 1901, in Como, Panola County, Mississippi, to Denton Hurlock Brahan and Johnnie C. Everson Brahan. She briefly lived with an aunt in San Antonio, but returned to Mississippi to live with a cousin. Her father was unable to care for her due to mental illness. Valiant moved to Memphis in 1914 after the death of her cousin.

Valiant studied acting, singing and languages in Europe where she met Edwin Mims Jr. The couple married in 1927 and divorced in 1932. Valiant split her time between Europe and New York, but returned to New York full-time in 1935. She worked as a model for Chanel in Paris and was the understudy for the lead female role in the 1928 Broadway musical The Three Musketeers which was produced by Florence Ziegfeld. The journal was later published as Journal of a Field Representative.