8 Interesting Facts About Shirley Temple, Beloved American Icon

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American icon Shirley Temple passed away earlier this month. Here are a few things you may not have known about the late, great public figure:

1. By 6 years old, Temple already had a huge fan base and was bringing in $1000 a week.

2. Temple’s iconic pin curls were always styled by her mother and consisted of exactly 56 curls each time.

3. Temple’s hair was frequently given vinegar rinses.

4.Temple was the original pick for Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, but 20th Century Fox wouldn’t let MGM borrow her and Judy Garland was subsequently cast instead.

5. Temple was quite good with a slingshot and once shot Eleanor Roosevelt in the behind while the First Lady turned chops for a cookout.

6. The studio started lying about Temple’s age, and as she mentions in her autobiography, she was devastated to find out she was born a year earlier.

7. After she retired from showbiz, Temple went on to become a U.S. ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia.

8. In 1972, Temple was diagnosed with breast cancer and became one of the first prominent women to openly discuss the disease.