Shirley Temple’s Children Revealed The Raw Truth About Their Iconic Mom
One-time child star Shirley Temple Black sadly passed after a long life in 2014. Unlike many such actors, she didn’t entirely fade away after growing out of her ringlets. Instead, Shirley had a whole second career. Such a high-powered life has little room for children, surely? Yet she was a mother to three, so how did they feel about having a mother that famous?
Shirley had been a light in the dark years of the Depression – with an unsurpassed fame. In those times, people flocked to watch her 23 films. What people adored about the child star was the bubbly personality she displayed and her undaunted optimism in those tough times.
In the years between 1935 and 1939 Shirley was America’s most-loved film star. She could have filled swimming pools with her fan mail and papered her walls with the photographs she featured in. According to The New York Times, Shirley was pictured even more than President Franklin D. Roosevelt – himself a very popular man.
The star had begun life in 1928 near to Hollywood, in Santa Monica, California. Mom Gertrude showered her with affection as a child, and she was reportedly a big factor in the youngster’s choice of path. Being “bathed in love,” as Shirley would put it, helped the star use her natural charm to win a spot in the film pantheon.
Mom Gertrude sent young Shirley to dance school when only three – an investment of two bits a week that paid off handsomely. Within the next year, she was seen by a studio agent and started her career in movies. The films – Baby Burlesks – weren’t entirely healthy, and their exploitative content was a long way from the wholesome image Shirley would later acquire.
