Temple, Shirley (1928– )

US actor who became the most successful child star of the 1930s. The charming, curly-haired, dimpled tot's films include Bright Eyes (1934), in which she sang ‘On the Good Ship Lollipop’; Little Miss Marker (1934); Curly Top (1935); The Little Colonel (1935); Captain January (1936); Heidi (1937); Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938); and The Little Princess (1939).

As Shirley Temple Black, she was active in the Republican Party and diplomatic affairs. She was a delegate to the United Nations 1969–70, US ambassador to Ghana 1974–76, US chief of protocol 1976–77, and US ambassador to Czechoslovakia 1989–92. She was one of the recipients of the 1998 Kennedy Center Honors. In 1998 she published her autobiography, Child Star.