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Shirley Temple Dead: Hollywood Child Star Dies Aged 85

Shirley Temple Dies
The Huffington Post UK
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Hollywood star Shirley Temple has died aged 85.

The former child star, who began her film career in 1932 at the age of three, reportedly died today at home in California, the BBC reports.

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In an era long before the likes of Macaulay Culkin and Lindsay Lohan, Shirley Temple became one of the world's biggest ever movie stars.

She became a household name and face the world over, with her appearance in the film 'Bright Eyes' (1934), singing the song 'Good Ship Lollipop'.

She followed this with further hits, 'Curly Top' and 'Heidi', and in 1935 received a unique Juvenile Oscar for her contribution to the movie industry the previous year.

Her box office popularity fell away as she reached her teens, and she made no attempt to hold on to it.

Instead, like Ronald Reagan long after her, she reinvented herself as a political figure, running unsuccessfully for Congress, and then working as the United States Ambassador to Ghana in 1974 and Czechoslovakia in 1989.

On the American Film Institute's list of greatest ever female screen legends, she is listed at a very respectable number 18, honouring a lasting influence that is remarkable considering her short career.

The beloved child star was married twice, and in 2005 won a SAG Lifetime Achievement Award.

Remember Shirley in 'Bright Eyes' here:

Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple (01 of14)
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FILE - In this undated file publicity photo, actress Shirley Temple is shown as she appeared in "Wee Willie Winkie" in 1937. Ms. Temple, who was born in 1928 and began acting at the age of three, received an honorary Academy Award in 1934 for her contributions as a child film star. (AP Photo, File) (credit:AP)
Shirley Temple (02 of14)
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FILE - This undated file photo shows six-year-old Shirley Temple as she appears in her first featured role in the 1934 musical "Stand Up and Cheer" with James Dunn. (AP Photo, File) (credit:AP)
Shirley Temple (03 of14)
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American diplomat and actress Shirley Temple at the Cafe Royal in London where she is promoting the Republican Party. (credit:PA)
Shirley Temple (04 of14)
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LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 29: Actress Shirley Temple Black accepts the Life Achievement Award onstage during the 12th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on January 29, 2006 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Shirley Temple (05 of14)
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LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 29: Actress Shirley Temple Black poses in the press room with her 42nd Annual Lifetime Achievement Award during the 12th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on January 29, 2006 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Vince Bucci/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Shirley Temple (06 of14)
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LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 29: Actress Shirley Temple Black accepts the Life Achievement Award onstage during the 12th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on January 29, 2006 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Shirley Temple (07 of14)
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LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 29: Actress Shirley Temple Black accepts the Life Achievement Award onstage during the 12th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on January 29, 2006 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Shirley Temple (08 of14)
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WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 18: Shirley Temple Black, the former child movie star, testifies 18 July 1989 before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during confirmation hearings on her nomination to be the US ambassador to Czechoslovakia, in Washington, DC. Black served as ambassador to Ghana during the Ford Administration. (Photo credit should read PANCHO BERNASCONI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Shirley Temple (09 of14)
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US President Bill Clinton (R) greets former child movie star Shirley Temple Black during a reception 06 December at the White House prior to a gala ceremony of the 21st annual national Kennedy Center Honors. Black and the other honorees will be saluted later 06 December at a performance in the Kennedy Center's Opera House in Washington, DC. (Photo credit should read CHRIS KLEPONIS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Shirley Temple (10 of14)
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Picture released on August 16, 1937 of John Edgar Hoover, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States, signing young actress Shirley Temple's autograph books, after he was made a member of the Shirley Temple Police Force (Photo credit should read -/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Shirley Temple (11 of14)
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HOLLYWOOD, : Child film star Shirley Temple (1928- ) arrives at her first big premier for the film 'Wee Willie Winkie' in Hollywood 26 June 1937. During 1934-8 she appeared in more than 20 feature films and was consistently the top US movie star. As Mrs. Shirley Temple-Black she entered politics, and was US Ambassador to Ghana (1974-6) and to Czechoslovakia (1989-93). (Photo credit should read AFP/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Shirley Temple (12 of14)
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LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 29: Actress Shirley Temple Black with her award for Lifetime Achievment poses in the press room during the 12th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on January 29, 2006 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Shirley Temple (13 of14)
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LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 29: Actress Shirley Temple Black arrives at the 12th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on January 29, 2006 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Vince Bucci/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Shirley Temple (14 of14)
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LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 29: Actress Shirley Temple Black accepts the Life Achievement Award onstage during the 12th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on January 29, 2006 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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