Google Doodle

Google Doodle honors Shirley Temple, actor, singer, and diplomat

Kyle Bradshaw | Jun 8 2021 - 10:35 pm PT

Today’s animated Google Doodle is in honor of 1930s child star, and later American diplomat, Shirley Temple.

Life of Shirley Temple

Shirley Temple was born on April 23, 1928, in Santa Monica, California as the third child of Gertrude and George Temple. In 1931, Shirley was enrolled in Meglin’s Dance School in Los Angeles and was there discovered by casting director Charles Lamont. In 1932, Lamont signed Temple to her first contract.

By 1933, Shirley Temple starred in her first film, a parody short called Glad Rags to Riches, and from there her film career blossomed. In 1934 alone, Temple starred in 12 films, including the musicals Stand Up and Cheer and Bright Eyes. The next year, she received a Juvenile Academy Award for her extensive contributions.

After spending her teen and young adult years between radio, film, and television, Temple transitioned to a career of politics and public service. In 1969, she was a delegate to the United Nations, and from 1974 to 1992 she served as a US Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia.

Amid her political career, in 1972, Temple publicly disclosed the fact that she had breast cancer, a disease that was not openly spoken of at the time. By coming forward, with both the diagnosis and the treatments, she was able to be an advocate for breast cancer awareness.

As for why Google chose today to honor Shirley Temple, on June 9, 2015, a new exhibit full of memorabilia was opened in the Santa Monica History Museum titled Love, Shirley Temple, just over a year after her death.

Shirley Temple Google Doodle

Today’s Google Doodle shines three key spotlights on Shirley Temple’s life and career, including her dancing (front and center), diplomatic work (left), and receiving the Screen Actors Guild’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. The project was done in partnership with Temple’s family, including her granddaughter, Teresa Caltabiano, who shared some thoughts about her grandmother on the Google Doodle blog.

At the heart of everything was her family. We were blessed to know her, her love, her courage, and her strength. She is still deeply loved and truly missed, and we treasure our memories of her.
— Teresa Caltabiano

Google also shared some early drafts of the Doodle’s animation.