Actress and former American diplomat Shirley Temple Black died at her residence in California on Monday night. She was 85.
The actress died of natural causes at 10:57pm, at her home in Woodside, California on Monday, according to a statement from her family.
"She was surrounded by her family and caregivers," said the statement. "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 for 45 years of the late and much missed Charles Alden Black."
Tributes have started pouring in following the news of Shirley's demise.
Whoopi Goldberg: "The Good Ship Lollypop has sailed today with Shirley Temple aboard a true 1 of a kind. If you don't know her.. google or YouTube her. R.I.P."
Alastair Stewart: "In mourning Shirley Temple,the Disney child-star,remember,too,the unlikely diplomat:Ghana, UN & Czechoslovakia. Hope, yet, for Mylie Cyrus ?"
Olivia Munn: "Rest in peace Shirley Temple. The world is so much brighter because you were in it..."
John Barrowman: "RIP Shirley Temple thanks for all the wonderful movies. Jb"
Born on 23 April 1928, Shirley started her acting career in 1932 at a tender age of three, and shot to fame the following year through the film "Bright Eyes." She won a special Academy Juvenile Award in 1935 for her outstanding contribution as a child artist, becoming the youngest person to receive an Oscar, a record which stands till this day.
She acted in about 43 feature films including "Bright Eyes", "Stand Up and Cheer" and "Curly Top", before retiring from films in 1950 at the age of 22.
Shirley married John Agar, an Army Air Corps sergeant, in 1945 when she was just 17 but they divorced after four years of marriage. She then married Charles Alden Black, a United States Navy officer during World War II, in 1950. They were married for 54 years until Black's death in 2005.
