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Shirley Temple (born 1928) is arguably the most famous child actress in film history.

She was very popular during the desperate times of TheGreatDepression, but those viewing her films today are more likely to have a reaction of TastesLikeDiabetes due to ValuesDissonance. The racism of ''The Littlest Rebel'' (Shirley's character is shown in blackface at one point) is also startling to a modern audience.

After leaving the stage, Temple entered politics, serving terms as chief of protocol and the U.S. ambassador to both Ghana and Czechoslovakia. Today she continues to reside in California.

For some reason, characters based off her tend to be {{Spoiled Brat}}s. Careful not to confuse her with [[TheLittleRascals Darla Hood]].
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!!This actress provides examples of:

* CheerfulChild: Ms. Temple's usual role.
** Shirley's mother wanted her to be able to play sassy little brats, maybe even [[EnfantTerrible Enfants Terribles]], and Shirley wanted to play more ActionGirl type roles, but the studio (TwentiethCenturyFox) wouldn't allow either.
* CuteButCacophonic: Just listen to her singing.
* TheDanza: In four of her early films.[[hottip:*: Including ''Bright Eyes'', the first movie written specifically with her in mind.]]
* IfItTastesBadItMustBeGoodForYou: In ''Poor Little Rich Girl'', Temple's character Barbara is forced to eat spinach, and says something along the lines of this. Barbara even performs a song on the radio based around this.
* HeartwarmingOrphan: Often (but not always) played these in her films.
* PrettyInMink: She wore a white rabbit fur coat in one movie, and that's been the most common real fur choice for girls' coats since.
* TheRedStapler: Set a lot of trends for girls, notably the hairstyle.
** And the first name "Shirley", which was originally a boys' name (among others, the name is given to one of ''AnneOfGreenGables''' sons). To this day, Shirley is a time capsule name dated to the peak of Temple's popularity that makes it very difficult for a woman to [[http://www.babynamewizard.com/voyager#prefix=shirley&ms=false&exact=false lie about her age]].
* RegalRinglets
* SheIsAllGrownUp: Her later films, like ''Since You Went Away'', and ''The Bachelor and the Bobbysoxer''.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: In ''Film/BrightEyes'', Temple is the GirlyGirl to JaneWithers {{Tomboy}}, although because of the mores of the time, and the HaysCode, both girls wear dresses.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Was considered for the role of Dorothy in ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'' before the part was given to JudyGarland.
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