Shirley Temple: What movies was she in, why is Google Doodle honouring her - and how to make a the famous cocktail

Temple was a childhood star, featuring in dozens of movies from the age of six

Google is celebrating the life and legacy of childhood star Shirley Temple by shining a spotlight on her with a Google Doodle.

Temple was one of the most famous childhood stars, dancing her way into films from the early 1930s.

The childhood actress and dancer went on to immerse herself in global issues and was a diplomat, appointed as a representative of the US to the United Nations in 1969.

Shirley Temple, aged 35, had already retired from her filming career (Picture: Getty Images)

So, how did she become famous, what movies was she in and why did she get involved in politics? This is what you need to know, including her thoughts on a ‘Dirty Shirley’.

Who was Shirley Temple?

Shirley Temple Black was born in April 1928, in Santa Monica, California - the youngest of three children, with older brothers George Jr., and John.

At the age of three, Temple began dancing, singing and acting lessons, and soon spotted by Charles Lamont, who was a casting director for Educational Pictures.

Temple, photographed in 2006, accepting the Life Achievement Award during the 12th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (Picture: Getty Images)

She signed with the production company in 1931 and became the star of its Baby Burlesks comedy 10-minute films, satirising other films and recent events, using preschool children in every role.

In 1934, she featured in toe-tapping musical ‘Stand Up and Cheer’, as well as over a dozen movies in her first year as a star.

She became the first child actress to receive an Academy Award, aged six.

She married John Agar, an Army Air Corps sergeant, at the age of 17 and he became a film director. The pair shot two movies together, Fort Apache (1948) and Adventure in Baltimore (1949).

Temple, pictured aged six, was already a Hollywood star and Academy Award winner (Picture: Getty Images)

In 1958, she gave birth to their only child, Linda Susan, before they divorced in December 1949.

By the age of 24 she had decided to retire from Hollywood and re-emerged in 1958 to host Shirley Temple's Storybook. Episodes ran one hour each, and Temple acted in three of the sixteen episodes.

In December 1950, Temple married WW2 intelligence officer Charles Alden Black, one of the wealthiest bachelors in California. In 1952, Temple gave birth to their son, Charles Alden Black Jr., followed by daughter Lori in 1954.

In 1967, she ran as a US Republican Party candidate for Congress, but was unsuccessful.

She was later appointed She was appointed as a delegate to the 24th United Nations General Assembly by President Nixon and held several US ambassadorial titles until 1992.

Temple remained married to Black until his death in 2005.

She died, aged 85, in February 2014 at her home in California. Her cause of death was COPD, she had been a lifelong smoker but did not do so in public as she did not want to set a bad example to her fans.

What movies did she star in and why did she retire?

Temple appeared in dozens of films throughout her childhood and teens, including Bright Eyes (1934), written especially for her.

In 1935, her parents signed a contract with Fox which would see Temple produce four movies every year. She would be paid $1,000 per week, which in today’s figures is around $123,000. She would also receive $15,000 per movie completed, equating to $1.85M now.

By the end of the first year, her salary was increased to $2,500 per week.

Temple became the ‘greatest asset to Fox’, and the company hired 19 writers, known as the Shirley Temple Story Development team, who created 11 original stories and some adaptations of the classics for her.

She starred in Curly Top, Our Little Girl and The Little Colonel in 1935, followed by Captain January, Poor Little Rich Girl and Dimples in 1936.

In 1939, she starred in Susannah of the Mounties, her last hit for Fox, That year, she transitioned to MGM movies, but the movie proved detrimental to her career.

In her first meeting with director Arthur Freed exposed himself to her. She later revealed she giggled nervously, she was aged only 12 at the time.

He sacked her from the production company in 1941, following the release of Kathleen.

In 1944, she signed with a new label and began producing movies again. However, she was lent out to other studios and was not given starring roles.

She starred in Kiss and Tell and The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer starring Cary Grant, as well as Fort Apache starring John Wayne and Henry Fonda. These were to be her final films and she announced she was retiring in December 1950.

Why is Google celebrating her with a Google Doodle?

On this day in 2015, the Santa Monica History Museum opened “Love, Shirley Temple”, a special exhibit featuring a collection of her rare memorabilia.

Temple was not only an acting star, she was the face of merchandise and children’s dolls were made in her likeness.

Following her career in Hollywood, she went on to become active in American politics and human rights.

As well as her appointment to the United Nations General Assembly in 1969, she also represented the US in 1972 at the UN Conference on the Human Environment.

President Bush appointed her the US ambassador to Ghana and to Czechoslovakia, and as Chief of Protocol of the United States.

She was appointed an Honorary Foreign Service Officer in 1988 and in 2006, she was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honour, by the Screen Actors Guild.

How to makes a Shirley Temple or ‘Dirty Shirley’ cocktail

Despite sharing the same name, the Shirley Temple cocktail was neither devised nor enjoyed by the cinema superstar.

In an NPR interview in 1986, she said of the non-alcoholic ‘Shirley Temple’ cocktail: "The saccharine sweet, icky drink?

“Yes, well... those were created in the mid 1930s by the Brown Derby Restaurant in Hollywood and I had nothing to do with it.

“But, all over the world, I am served that. People think it's funny. I hate them. Too sweet.”

Try it for yourself:

- Pour 1 ounce grenadine over ice in a glass.

- Top with 4 ounces lemon-lime soda and 4 ounces ginger ale. Stir gently to combine.

- Garnish with a maraschino cherry and enjoy!

The Dirty Shirley is an adult version of the famous Shirley Temple cocktail, with an added shot of vodka.