Shirley Temple Dead at 85 (VIDEOS)

Shirley Temple Black, child actress and later, foreign diplomat has died at 85. Via CNN

Shirley Temple Black, who rose to fame as arguably the most popular child star in Hollywood history, died late Monday night, her publicist said.

She was 85.

Temple Black, who also enjoyed a long career as a diplomat, died of natural causes at her Woodside, California, home. She was surrounded by family and caregivers, a statement from Cheryl Kagan said.

She began acting at age 3 and became a massive box-office draw before turning 10, commanding a then-unheard of salary of $50,000 per movie.

Her first film of notice was in 1932 when she played in “War Babies,” part of the “Baby Burlesks” series of short films.

For about 18 years, she sang, tap-danced and acted her way into the hearts of millions. Her corkscrew curls were popular with little girls from the 1930s through the 1970s.

She embarked on a new career as a foreign diplomat: She served in the U.S. delegation to the United Nations from 1969 to 1974 was U.S. ambassador to Ghana from 1974 to 1976, and U.S. ambassador to Czechoslovakia from 1989 to 1992.

“We salute her for a life of remarkable achievements as an actor, as a diplomat, and most importantly as our beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and adored wife of fifty-five years of the late and much missed Charles Alden Black,” a statement said.

I watched her films as a kid and was really disappointed to find out she was actually a grownup! Her movies have endured over generations, which is impressive, considering her career was mostly confined to the 1930s. Poor Shirley was almost always an orphan, or motherless/fatherless. In the end, she’d always find a happy ending.

Check out a few of Shirley Temple Black’s iconic film clips below:

Here she is tap dancing with the legendary hoofer, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. From the 1935 film, The Little Colonel

Block out the racist overtones, which was typical of the time, and check out Robinson’s dancing. It’s amazing.