Black, Shirley Temple (1928–)

American actress and diplomat. Born Shirley Temple, April 23, 1928, in Santa Monica, California; dau. of George Francis and Gertrude Amelia (Krieger) Temple; m. John Agar (actor), Sept 19, 1945 (div. 1950); m. Charles Alden Black, Dec 16, 1950; children: (1st m.) Linda Susan; (2nd m.) Charles Alden Jr. and Lori Alden.

Child movie star whose famous dimples saved 20th Century-Fox from bankruptcy, began work for Educational Films Corp. (1932); appeared in short films, followed by 1st full-length film Red-Haired Alibi for Tower Productions (1932); signed contract with Fox Films (1934); appeared and starred in over 30 features (1934–49), including Stand Up and Cheer (1934), Little Miss Marker (1934), Baby Take a Bow (1934), Bright Eyes (1934), The Little Colonel (1935), Curly Top (1935), The Littlest Rebel (1935), Captain January (1936), Poor Little Rich Girl (1936), Dimples (1936), Wee Willie Winkie (1937), Heidi (1937), Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938), Little Miss Broadway (1938), Just Around the Corner (1938), The Little Princess (1939), Susannah of the Mounties (1939), The Blue Bird (1940), Since You Went Away (1944), I'll Be Seeing You (1945), The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947), The Story of Seabiscuit (1949) and A Kiss for Corliss (1949); named #1 box-office attraction in US (1935–38); narrated and appeared in tv series "Shirley Temple's Storybook" (1958–61); entered Republican politics, campaigning for Richard Nixon (1960); ran for Congress (1967); appointed representative to 24th General Assembly of United Nations (1969–70); served as ambassador to Ghana (1974–76); served as US chief of protocol (1976–77); was officer and founding member of American Academy of Diplomacy (1981); appointed 1st Honorary Foreign Service Officer of the US (1981); served as ambassador to Czechoslovakia (1989).

See also Child Star: An Autobiography (McGraw-Hill, 1988); Anne Edwards, Shirley Temple: American Princess (Morrow, 1988); and Women in World History.