Paper doll:Shirley Temple Paper Doll Book

Shirley Temple (born in 1928) performed in her first American film at the age of three. By the time she starred in "Bright Eyes," a feature film made to showcase her acting, dancing, singing, and cuteness, she had already appeared in "Stand up and Cheer," "Little Miss Maker," and several short films. Temple went on to star in such hits as "The Little Colonel," "Our Little Girl,' "Curly Top," and many other productions. Temple's movies soothed a country rocked by depression and battered by hard times. Her bouncy curls, charisma, dancing, singing, and sweetness calmed worried movie audiences even as her charms turned gruff old men into ol' softies at just the right plot point in the movie. Little Shirley was the salve to a suffering nation. Even President Franklin Roosevelt appreciated her talents: "It is a splendid thing that for just fifteen cents an American can go to a movie and look at the smiling face of a baby and forget his troubles." She worked occasionally as a young teen and an adult, but never regained to success she attained as a young film star. Temple inspired dolls, toys, clothes for young girls, and other consumer goods. Temple will always remain one of the iconic images of the Great Depression.