Perhaps the most famous Hollywood child star of them all Shirley Temple has passed away in California at the age of  85. Temple was born in Santa Monica, California on 23 April 1928 and excelled at  dancing as a toddler and was enrolled by her mother in a Los Angeles dance academy at the age of three.

In 1934 the child star was appeared in Stand Up and Cheer and by the age of six she was earning $1,250 (€914) a week, equivalent to more than $21,000 (€15,360) today. She went on to star in Little Miss Marker and The Little Colonel and was loved for her performance of On the Good Ship Lollipop from the film Bright Eyes. She was awarded an Oscar in 1935.

As an adult she tried her hand in politics where in 1967 she unsuccessfully ran as a Republican candidate for Congress in the state of California. She also managed to raise more than $2 million for Richard Nixon’s re-election campaign and was later elected to the United States’ team to the United Nations and where her popularity as a Hollywood darling proved to be a massive asset to her. She will of course be forever remembered as the talented little Hollywood star whose films were enjoyed by millions throughout the world.