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Remembering Shirley Temple: A Style Retrospective

MODERN mourns the loss of the woman who started as a precocious little girl with a look at Shirley's style throughout her life and those infamous curls.

Lauren Quick
Lauren QuickContributor
February 11, 2014
2 min to read


Child star and diplomat Shirley Temple died Feb. 10, 2014 in her California home at the age of 85.

MODERN mourns the loss of the woman who started as a precocious little girl with contagious on-screen joy and optimism; we take a look at Temple's style throughout her life and the looks that helped make her famous.

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THE CHILD SUPERSTAR

Temple, age 5, in Glad Rags to Riches (1933)


Temple, born in 1928, wasted no time starting her acting career. The little girl with perfect blonde ringlets had her first big "moment" when she was just 6 years old in Little Miss Marker in 1934. She went on to gain fame from movies such as Bright Eyes, Our Little Girl, Heidi and The Little Princess, and she won an honorary academy award by age 6.

TEENAGE DREAM

Shirley Temple, 19, and Guy Madison in Honeymoon (1947)


Although Temple retired from acting at 22, she blossomed into a teen star with a classic Hollywood glam look. 

THE DIPLOMAT

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Ambassador to Czechoslovakia Shirley Temple Black in 1990


Rather than spiral into the often-precarious, nostalgia-filled life of a childhood star after stardom has dwindled, Temple turned to politics as a second career and looks the part with a conservative style. Presidents Nixon, Ford and H.W. Bush all utilized her as a political delegate and ambassador.

Temple was an inspiration at the age of 44 when she publicly discussed her mastectomy for a cancerous left breast and encouraged women to take charge of their health and well-being.

FOREVER A STAR

Actress Shirley Temple Black accepts the Life Achievement Award onstage during the 12th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on January 29, 2006 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)


Temple received the Life Achievement Award onstage during the 12th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2006. She is styled age-appropriately and has the same sunny disposition that the world saw when the curly-haired little girl brightened up the 1930s. 

Shirley Temple's iconic curls and spirit will be remembered fondly. To read the New York Times article on Temple, click here.

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