Shirley Temple Child Star, Adult Diplomat

Her adorable smile, captivating voice and cute curly red hair helped make Shirley Temple the most famous child actor of all-time. She was the first child to actually be considered a star leading the way for child stars in the future like Natalie Wood, Jodi Foster, Kristy McNichol, and Tatum O’Neal.

Because she could act, sing and even tap dance she won her way into hearts across the world.

She was born April 23, 1928. Her mother Gertrude a retired dance teacher taught Temple to dance and mentored her career.

Her breakthrough film was in 1934, “Bright Eyes”. But her roles became so notorious that today; DVDs of her movies continue to sell like hotcakes.

Some of her best selling movies include “Curly Top”, “Stand up and Cheer”,”Since you went Away” and “The Little Princess”.

If you don’t remember her movies you must remember her songs like “On a Good Ship Lollipop” and “Animal Crackers in my Soup”. Her cute performances were often imitated by stars. One episode of “The Brady Bunch” has Cindy wanting to be the next Shirley Temple and singing “On a Good Ship Lollipop.

It seemed everyone either wanted to be Shirley Temple or wanted their child to be the next Shirley Temple as she was considered the ideal child. Her magnetic personality and sparkling dimples were so real and honest it uplifted people during the depression.

She helped people escape sadness and smile, at least for a short while.

She was the first recipient of the special Juvenile Performer Academy Award in 1935. Temple was also the youngest actress to add foot and hand prints at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. There were also non- alcoholic Shirley Temple drinks for the young ones named after her. The name Shirley also became very popular as were children across the country including actress Shirley MacLaine got their name from the star.

Shirley Temple dolls and toys were hugely popular and continue to be so with new collections being made each year. But dolls and toys weren’t the only things featuring Temple. Blue depression glass items were adorned with her image; coffee mugs, hats and clothes also feature the child star.

She was one of the few child stars who loved being both a child and a star. She has no regrets as her family had the ability to let her live a normal life outside of performing.

As she grew older, her roles diminished with one of her last big films being the 1947 “The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer”.

She retired in 1949 but returned to show business with the television series “Shirley Temple’s Storybook” on January 12, 1958. It lasted about one year. She continued to make several appearances on talk shows but her career turned to politics.

Her political career was when she began using her married last name of Black. She marred Charles Black in 1950. It was her second marriage. She was previously married to John Agar for 5 years form 1945-1950. She had a daughter Susan with Agar and two children Lori and Charles Alden Black Jr. with her second husband.

She was appointed a delegate to the United Nations by President Richard Nixon in 1969 and appointed U.S. Ambassador to Ghana from 1974 to 1976. She became the first female Chief of Protocol of the United States in 1976 putting her in charge of all State Department ceremonies. In 1987, she was designated the first Honorary Foreign Service Officer in U.S. history. From 1989 to 1992, she was United States Ambassador to Czechoslovakia.

Despite her renowned political career, the country could not forget the precocious child presenting her with a Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2006. She appeared in over 40 film productions.

She also received honorary doctorates from University of Santa Clara and Lehigh University, a Fellowship from College of Notre Dame, and a Chubb Fellowship from Yale University.

In 1972 she also was the first public figure to announce she had breast cancer. She brought awareness to the cancer and encouraged others to have early testing in order to help prevent and survive it.

At the age of 81, Temple is still considered a film icon. Every day new fans embrace her charm that seems to make the world a better place to be. Temple’s legacy touched so many areas that it may never be matched.

Source: www.imdb.com