Shirley Temple's Private Pain Revealed on What Would Have Been Her 98th Birthday — Nonstop Work, Death Threats and Lecherous Studio Execs
Shirley Temple passed away in 2014.
April 23 2026, Updated 5:07 p.m. ET
Shirley Temple grew up a Hollywood darling who was known for her adorable ringlets, sweet singing voice and vibrant personality on the big screen, but there was a distinct dark side to her stardom.
At the height of her fame as a child actress in the 1930s and '40s, Temple worked long hours, allegedly suffered sexual harassment and she even received terrifying death threats, RadarOnline.com can reveal on what would have been her 98th birthday.
Childhood Lost to Fame
Shirley Temple began dancing at only 3 years old.
The late actress once recalled a key example of her childhood being taken away by her celebrity when she admitted that she "stopped believing in Santa Clause at the age of 6."
"My mother took me to see him in a store and he asked for my autograph," she said at the time.
But her career began much earlier than that.
Temple began dancing when she was only 3 years old and starred in a series of short films called Baby Burlesks. Unfortunately, she later came to the conclusion that they were a "cynical exploitation of our childish innocence that occasionally were racist or sexist."
Shirley Temple starred in nearly 30 movies by the time she was 10 years old.
Temple's first feature film was called The Red-Haired Alibi, released in 1932, when she was around 4 years old. She swiftly shot to fame in the years that followed, starring in nearly 30 movies by the time she was 10 years old, but with her recognition also came an incredible workload.
It got the point that the little girl was so busy, she wouldn't learn choreography until it was completely finished.
Kiki Ebsen, the daughter of late actor Buddy Ebsen, said her dad enjoyed telling the story of "trying to get Shirley Temple to reheard their dance sequence" for Captain January.
"She got there and asked my dad, ‘Is the dance set?’" Kiki told Closer. "He said, ‘No, I’m going to make a couple of changes.’ She turned around and said, ‘Call me when it’s set and I’ll learn it.’ The point is, she didn’t have time to learn a dance that wasn’t set."
Sexual Harassment Allegations
Shirley Temple claimed a studio exec exposed himself to her when she was 11.
Temple also claimed she dealt with lecherous studio execs from a very young age. When she was only 11 years old, MGM picked up her contract – and they wanted her to make some changes when it came to her body.
The former actress once stated that producer Arthur Freed told her that he wanted her to "get rid of the baby fat" and get "new hair." Shortly after, Freed allegedly unzipped his pants and exposed his genitals to her.
Temple claimed she "reacted with nervous laughter" at the time.
She later left MGM after only doing one movie and returned to work at Fox.
Death Threats
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Shirley Temple received many death threats throughout her career as a child star.
While Temple's mother, Gertrude, was "very protective" of her daughter, according to Marilyn Granas, Temple's former stand-in, she couldn't shield her from everything that came with fame.
In the early 1930s, author John Kasson said the child star began receiving death threats that were so concerning, her family set up an "elaborate security system with guards that patrolled her family’s gated home."
But the most disturbing threat happened at a Los Angeles theater in 1939, when a woman stood up and pointed a gun directly at Temple in an apparent assassination attempt.
It's been reported the woman thought Temple had "stolen" her dead daughter's "soul."
Thankfully, security was able to stop her before the situation escalated to violence, but it left the young child shaken.
Eventually, Temple retired from acting in her early 20s, just after her marriage to her second husband, Charles Black.
She passed away on February 10, 2014, at 85 years old.
