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| Shirley at school hour at the studio, 1939 |
Born Shirley Jane Temple in Santa Monica, California on 23 April 1928, Shirley Temple went into show business in 1932 at the age of four, after being discovered in a dance studio. She became the most beloved little girl in the world and was voted" the most outstanding personality of the year" at the age of six by the Academy of Motion Pictures. She started out making 75 pounds a week, and by 1937 was earning 150,000 pounds a year - the seventh highest paid actor at the time. By 1939 16 of Shirley's movies had grossed 2,500,000 pounds each. Shirley was cute, but not too sugary, and so clever - she could dance, sing and had quick come back lines - costars like Lionel Barrymore thought her "divine" and "intelligent," and every little girl wanted to be just like her. Clever marketing put her name to everything from dolls to hair-ribbons - you could eve buy Shirley Temple toothbrushes.
