One of Hollywood's first child stars, Shirley Temple Black, died on Monday night, CNN reports.
Temple, 85, was surrounded by family at her Woodside, Calif. home, her publicist Cheryl Kagan said in a statement to CNN. The actress and philanthropist began a career in Hollywood at 6-years-old. Temple's biggest hits included "Little Miss Marker" (1934), "Curly Top" (1935) and "The Littlest Rebel" (1935).
"In her heyday, Temple was a national treasure and an American icon, as big a star around the world as Greta Garbo or Charlie Chaplin," Variety reports. "And though, except for a brief TV stint in the late '50s, Temple was never onscreen after the 1940s, subsequent generations grew up with her films on television and video."
Temple retired from acting at 22-years-old and married Charles Black. Together the couple had three children: Lori Black, Linda Susan Agar, Charles Alden Black Jr. After Temple left Hollywood, she served as 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," according to CNN. Temple used her spotlight to engage in political affairs, but failed to get a position in the U.S. House.
"I have no trouble being taken seriously as a woman and a diplomat here," Temple said after being appointed as U.S. ambassador to Ghana in 1974, Newsweek reports. "My only problems have been with Americans who, in the beginning, refused to believe I had grown up since my movies."
The UN released the following statement to CNN regarding Temple's death.
"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."
