The fantastic story of Shirley Temple, the famous child star

Her lead role as Shirley Blake in the film made her famous worldwide, and she later received an honorary Academy Award. But it wasn't Shirley Temple who wanted to be Hollywood's next princess; she was barely ready for kindergarten when her career started. Her mother, Gertrude Temple, encouraged Shirley to develop her performing talents and enrolled her in a Los Angeles dance school, Meglin's Dance School. Later in life, Shirley Temple told interviewers that she never felt forced by her parents. "Many times, I think, I pulled around." Her parents supported her when she was cast in her first film. Shirley Temple's mother was always by her side on set. One day, a director sent Shirley's mother on an errand, according to the BBC. During that time, he terrified Shirley to the point that she cried. But her mother was also there for moral support. She had done her hair for each movie, with every hairstyle having exactly 56 curls. Shirley Temple was back in the entertainment business between 1958 and 1961. She hosted and performed in a television series called Shirley Temple's Storybook, which featured fairy-tale adaptations she narrated. She also appeared on other shows but wanted to try new things. At the sweet, youthful age of sixteen, love was in the air, and Shirley fell fast. A 24-year-old Air Force sergeant fell in love with her and proposed a few days before her seventeenth birthday. She said yes, and in 1945, Shirley Temple was married to John Agar Jr. Shortly after their wedding and honeymoon, Sgt. Agar had to return to the army. The couple tried to make their marriage work and had a baby daughter, Linda Susan. After their daughter was born, Agar decided to stop being in the army and start acting. They acted in a few films, Fort Apache and Adventure in Baltimore. But Sgt. Agar started drinking too much to cope with his feelings, and the couple divorced in 1950. This was a sorrowful time for Shirley Temple. She was only 22 and had already experienced so many life-changing events. She had officially retired from acting and divorced her first husband. But there was still hope for her! Love always finds a way, and Temple falls for Charles Alden Black shortly after her separation. They met while she was in Honolulu, where he was working for a shipping company. Temple admitted that she fell in love with Charles Black at first sight. Because of the Korean War, the family moved to Washington, D.C. This opened up many opportunities for Temple, and she became interested in public service. In 1967, Shirley Temple did something audacious. She came back to California and tried to become a famous singer. She decided to try to become a member of Congress for California's 11th district but lost her seat to Pete McCloskey. During the Great Depression, even the President of the United States said that Temple's iconic innocence and smile had helped boost America's morale. In 1969, President Richard Nixon chose her to be a delegate in the United Nations General Assembly. This was just the start of her remarkable journey, as she was about to make history in the 1970s. As a child, she helped America through film; as an adult, she helped the world through diplomacy. After a few decades, she stopped acting but kept working as a diplomat for many more years. After a busy decade in the 1970s, she spent the 1980s focusing on local public affairs. 1984, she was President of the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco. Towards the end of the decade, she returned to diplomacy and was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Czechoslovakia from 1989 to 1992. By the age of six, Temple earned $1,250 a week, more than $21,000 today. But she didn't make all of her money from her films. During her stardom, she had the best-selling Shirley Temple dolls. It is rumored, but not proven, that a doll in perfect condition can be worth about $1,000-$2,000. In 1994, an Army transport plane was named after her in Santa Monica. According to several sources, she "christened" it with a pat and a kiss.