Shirley Temple, Child Icon, Dies at 85

One of the most popular child stars of all time, and a true American Treasure, passed away at her home in California yesterday.

SHIRLEY TEMPLE died of natural causes at the age of 85.

She began acting when she was just THREE years old!  Her movies include "Heidi", "Little Miss Marker", "The Little Princess", "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm", and "Curly Top", which is the one where she sang "Animal Crackers in My Soup".

As an adult, she even hosted a television show.  It was called "Shirley Temple's Storybook" and it ran from 1958 to 1961.

After she retired from acting, she became a diplomat.  She represented us in the United Nations from 1969 to 1974, was our ambassador to Ghana in the '70s, and our ambassador to Czechoslovakia from 1989 to 1992.

She's survived by three children, a granddaughter and two great-granddaughters.