14 min read
Reading time
2,766
Words
Published
89
Film credits
6
Awards
Shirley Temple was the most popular child star of all time, topping the box office for four consecutive years from 1935 to 1938, beating out stars like Clark Gable and Bing Crosby. She began her career at age three and won the first Academy Juvenile Award at age six in 1935. After her film career declined, she served as a diplomat, including as ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Shirley Temple — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Shirley Temple by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Shirley Temple — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
Shirley Temple was born on April 23, 1928, in Santa Monica, California, to Gertrude Amelia Temple and George Francis Temple. Her mother styled her hair in exactly 56 pin curls for each film. Temple started acting at age three, with her first film role at age three in 1931.
Temple’s breakthrough came with Little Miss Marker 1934. She became the box-office champion for 1935-1938, starring in hits like The Little Colonel and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. She received the first Academy Juvenile Award in 1935. By 1939, her popularity waned, but she continued acting in films like Since You Went Away 1944 and The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer 1947. Later, she transitioned to politics and diplomacy.
Temple married John Agar on September 19, 1945. They had a daughter, Susan Agar, and divorced on December 5, 1950. On December 16, 1950, she married Charles Black. They had two children: Charles Black Jr. born 1952 and Lori Black born 1954. Charles Black died of bone marrow disease in 2005.
Shirley Temple remains the youngest person to win an Academy Award, receiving the Juvenile Award in 1935 at age six. She was named the 38th Greatest Movie Star by Entertainment Weekly and appears on the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover. As a diplomat, she served as U.S. ambassador to Ghana 1974-1976 and Czechoslovakia 1989-1992. The non-alcoholic drink Shirley Temple is named after her. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 and the Kennedy Center Honors in 1998.
The complete filmography of Shirley Temple — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
Every award, honor, and recognition received by Shirley Temple — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
A wall of memorable lines from Shirley Temple — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
I Stopped Believing in Santa Claus When I Was Six. Mother Took Me to See Him in a Department Store and He Asked for My Autograph.
Any Star Can Be Devoured by Human Adoration, Sparkle by Sparkle.
One Famous Movie Executive Who Shall Remain Nameless, Exposed Himself to Me in His Office. Mr X, I Said, I Thought You Were a Producer, Not an Exhibitor.
Shirley Temple Doesn’t Hurt Shirley Temple Black. Shirley Temple Helps Shirley Temple Black. She Is Thought of as a Friend Which I Am!
I Class Myself with Rin Tin Tin. People in the Depression Wanted Something to Cheer Them Up, and They Fell in Love with a Dog and a Little Girl.
When I Saw Work Shoes I Would Know That That Person Worked. I Was Very Worried About People with Shiny, Pointed Shoes as a Child.
I Was so Short That I Became an Expert in Belts and Shoes and People’s Hands and Handbags. I Learned That I Liked the Working Crew the Most, More Than the Stars. I Liked the Guys That I Worked with Very, Very Much. It Was My Extended Family. the Crew Worked on Almost All of My Films. We Had a Marvelous Time. I Had a Shirley Temple Police Force and All of the Crowd and Various Celebrities I Would Have Join My Force. I Was Very Careful That They Kept Their Badges Polished, and If They Lost Them There Was a Big Fine. If They Gave Them Away, There Was a Bigger Fine. We Had Just so Much Fun. I Teased Them a Lot, Too, Particularly the Cameramen, Who Had a Lot of Trouble with Me.
Sunnybrook Farm Is Now a Parking Lot; the Petticoats Are in the Garbage Can, Where They Belong in the Modern World; and I Detest Censorship.
Good Luck Needs No Explanation.
I Ran for Congress Just Once.
I Work a 17 Hour Day, and I’m Personally Responsible for 108 Staff Members in the Embassy.
When I Was 14, I Was the Oldest I Ever Was. I’ve Been Getting Younger Ever Since.
We Would Have to Invent the U.N If We Did Not Have It, Which Is Not an Original Thought.
Little-known facts about Shirley Temple — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
She became the first recipient of the juvenile Academy Award at age six, the youngest person ever to receive an Oscar.
Gertrude Temple styled her daughter’s hair in exactly 56 pin curls for each film.
Shirley Jones and Shirley MacLaine were both named after her.
In 1989 she was appointed United States Ambassador to Czechoslovakia.
Bill Robinson, known as Bojangles Robinson, was her idol as a child, and she worked with him on four pictures.
In a 1988 interview with Larry King, she stated that out of the $3 million she generated for 20th Century-Fox, she only saw $45,000 in her trust fund.
When she was seven years old, her life was insured with Lloyd’s of London; the contract stipulated no benefits would be paid if she met with death or injury while intoxicated.
A non-alcoholic cocktail, The Shirley Temple, was created in her honor; it consists of ginger ale, grenadine, and orange juice, topped with a cherry and lemon.
She presented Walt Disney with his special Academy Award for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 1937 — a standard-sized Oscar with seven little Oscars.
When she played Beauty in a production of Beauty and the Beast, her young daughter remarked, ‘Gee, Mom, you’ll make a swell Beast!
She has three children: Susan Agar born 1948, Charles Black Jr. born 1952, and Lori Black born 1954. Both daughters were born in the same Santa Monica hospital and delivered by the same doctor who delivered Shirley.
When Gary Cooper first met her on the set of Now and Forever 1934, he asked for her autograph.
At age six she was the youngest presenter at the Oscars; she presented the Best Actress award in 1935 to Claudette Colbert.
Her daughter Lori Black was the bass player for the rock band The Melvins.
She fell in love with Charles Black at first sight when they met in Honolulu; he was working for a shipping company.
She appears on the cover of The Beatles’ album ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’.
She was elected to the board of directors of Walt Disney Productions in May 1974.
While filming Susannah of the Mounties 1939, the Blackfoot tribe gave her the Indian name Bright Shining Star.
In 1938, Congressman Martin Dies of the House Un-American Activities Committee accused her of being a Communist agent, a baseless charge that caused a national outcry and nearly ended Dies’ career.
Buddy Ebsen was her best friend and dancing partner.
She became close to Will Rogers after signing with Fox; when Rogers died in a 1935 airplane crash, she was inconsolable. Studio chief Joseph M. Schenck bought her a pony and had it shipped on the Queen Mary, and she insisted it travel by rail to avoid a plane crash.
On September 9, 1936, she received a new contract from 20th Century-Fox paying her over $50,000 per film.
In the fall of 1974 she was appointed American Ambassador to Ghana; Henry Kissinger called her able and tough.
Her second husband Charles Black admitted he had never seen any of her movies while they were courting.
According to her autobiography, when she sought permission to marry first husband John Agar, she discovered that her parents and Fox had lied about her true age — she was actually two years older than believed, causing a permanent rift.
Charles Black, her second husband, was a businessman and maritime consultant who died of bone marrow disease at age 86 in 2005.
She was voted the 38th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
From 1964 to 1966 she chaired the program division of the San Francisco Film Festival, resigning when she objected to the pornographic content of Mai Zetterling’s Night Games 1966.
In 1972 she was sworn in as Special Assistant to the Chairman of the President’s Council on Environment, during which time she underwent a radical mastectomy.
She was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1500 Vine Street on February 8, 1960.
She was considered for the role of Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz 1939; 20th Century-Fox refused to lend her, and MGM had concerns about her singing.
She was the last surviving film star mentioned in the song ‘Let’s Go to the Movies’ from the film Annie 1982.
Even in old age, she still griped about not getting the role of Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz.
Only one of her films, Since You Went Away 1944, was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar.
One of her films, Little Miss Marker 1934, has been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.
In the summer of 1976 she was named Chief of Protocol for the US State Department.
She was a chain smoker throughout her adult life, though she generally avoided being seen smoking in public.
She was bitten on the finger by a baby alligator belonging to exotic animal trainer Ralph Helfer.
As a teenager, her bodyguard was Louis Dean Palmer, whom she called Palmtree.
On Easter Sunday 1936, Joel McCrea sent her a live bunny as a gift.
In 1974 she was appointed United States Ambassador to Ghana.
She was named a delegate to the United Nations in 1969 by President Richard Nixon.
She and Jackie Cooper were the most popular child stars of the 1930s.
She was named #18 Actress on the American Film Institute’s 50 Greatest Screen Legends list.
In 1969 she was appointed United States Delegate to the United Nations.
She became a Dame of Malta, though from a non-Roman Catholic-affiliated entity.
She was pictured on a forever USA commemorative postage stamp in the Legends of Hollywood series, issued April 18, 2016.
Her dual reputations as child star and ambassador were parodied on Saturday Night Live, with Laraine Newman playing her.
The song and dance number Hop, Skip, Jump and Slide performed with Jimmy Durante was cut from the film Little Miss Broadway 1938 due to length.
According to author Garry Wills, director John Ford treated her well on the set of Wee Willie Winkie 1937 but not on Fort Apache 1948 when she was older.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Shirley Temple.
Celebrities similar to Shirley Temple — same craft, ranked by reach.
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇺🇸 United States
🇮🇹 Italy
🇺🇸 United States
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
