Shirley Temple

Shirley Temple 1928-, American child film star, b. Santa Monica, Calif., as Shirley Jane Temple. She started in movies at three-and-a-half and starred in her first feature ( Stand Up and Cheer! ) in 1934. An accomplished singer and dancer, little Shirley, with her golden curls, dimples, and dazzling smile, became one of the era's best-loved personalities and a Hollywood box-office champion. Her many screen hits include Little Miss Marker (1934), The Little Colonel (1935), Curly Top (1935), Dimples (1936), Heidi (1937), and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938). Adolescence brought a halt to her stardom, although she had roles in several 1940s films and appeared on television in the late 1950s and early 60s. She married businessman Charles Black in 1950 and, as Shirley Temple Black, became active in Republican politics, serving as a delegate to the United Nations (1969-70), U.S. protocol chief (1976-77), and ambassador to Ghana (1974-76) and Czechoslovakia (1989-92).

Bibliography: See her autobiography (1988); R, Windeler, The Films of Shirley Temple (1995); studies by R. Windeler (1976), A. Edwards (1988), and C. Fiori (1997).

Temple, Shirley (1928– ) US film actress. She became a child star in films such as Bright Eyes (1934) and The Little Princess (1939). Temple continued to make films as a young adult, but could never recapture her early success. As Shirley Temple Black, she went into politics, serving as a US delegate to the UN (1969–70), then as US Ambassador to Ghana (1974–76) and to Czechoslovakia (1989–93).