Shirley Temple Black born Shirley Jane Temple ; April 23, β February 10, was an American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat, who was Hollywood's number-one box-office draw as a child actress from to Temple began her film career in when she was three years old and was well-known for her performance in Bright Eyes , which was released in She won a special Juvenile Academy Award in February for her outstanding contribution as a juvenile performer in motion pictures during and continued to appear in popular films through the remainder of the s, although her subsequent films became less popular as she grew older.
She began her diplomatic career in , when she was appointed to represent the U. Mission under Ambassador Charles Yost. Later, she was named U. Ambassador to Ghana , and also served as the first female U. Chief of Protocol. In , she published her autobiography, Child Star. Ambassador to Czechoslovakia β She is 18th on the American Film Institute 's list of the greatest female American screen legends of classic Hollywood cinema.
The family was of Dutch , English, and German ancestry. Temple's mother encouraged her to develop her singing, dancing, and acting talents. While at the dance school, Temple was spotted by Charles Lamont , who was a casting director for Educational Pictures.
She hid behind a piano while he was in the studio. Lamont liked Temple and invited her to audition. He signed her to a contract in Educational Pictures launched its Baby Burlesks , [ 16 ] [ 17 ] [ 18 ] [ 19 ] minute comedy shorts satirizing recent films and events, using preschool children in every role.
That same year, she appeared in Kid 'in' Africa as a child imperiled in the jungle and in Runt Page , a pastiche of the previous year's The Front Page. The younger players in the cast recited their lines phonetically. Temple became the breakout star of this series, and Educational promoted her to minute comedies in the Frolics of Youth series with Frank Coghlan Jr.
