Shirley Temple Biography

Child film star, actress, and diplomat. Born on April 23, 1928, in Santa Monica, California. Shirley Temple is a legendary child actress, having appeared in more than 50 short and feature films and developed a worldwide following in the 1930s and 1940s. A talented singer and dancer, she started performing soon after she could walk, making her first film appearances around the age of three.

Perhaps one of Hollywood’s youngest superstars, Shirley Temple Black appeared in a string of films in the early to mid-1930s. In fact, she made 11 films in 1933. But it was her appearance in 1934’s Stand Up and Cheer that is considered her breakthrough performance. That year she had roles in a total of eight films and earned a special award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences “in grateful recognition of her outstanding contribution to screen entertainment.”
 
Audiences adored her cheery personality, trademark curls, and sweet-looking face, making Shirley Temple Black a popular box office draw. She starred in such classics as Heidi (1937), Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938), and The Little Princess (1939). 

As with many child actors, Shirley Temple Black found it difficult to find roles as she matured. She married John Agar in 1945. Their union only lasted five years before they divorced. The couple had one daughter, Linda. In 1950, she married Charles A. Black. Shirley and Charles had two children: Charles, Jr., and Lori. They remained devoted to each other until Charles’ death in 2005.

Although she tried to revive her career in the late 1950s, Shirley Temple Black wasn’t able to make a comeback. Both of her television series—Shirley Temple Storybook (1958) and the Shirley Temple Show (1960) failed to capture enough of an audience.
 
After her acting, Shirley Temple Black explored possible opportunities in the world of politics. She ran for Congress in the state of California as Republican in the 1960s, but was unsuccessful. Shirley Temple Black then served as a diplomat. She was appointed to represent the United States to the United Nations in 1969. In the mid-1970s, she served as the U.S. ambassador to the African nation of Ghana. She later became the U.S. ambassador to Czechoslovakia from 1989 to 1992.

Shirley Temple Black lives in northern California. In 1988, she shared her personal story in Child Star: An Autobiography. According to her website, a second volume of her autobiography is in the works.

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