I wonder how many today know her.

I have to admit that her films were never to my taste, even as a kid, but I remember some of my great aunts who just loved her, and associated her with the happy memories of their childhood, the few they likely had. It can't be said enough how much of a comfort she was to people during the Depression. That isn't just hype.

I hope some of my relatives are meeting her right now.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2556601/Hollywood-star-Shirley-Temple-dies-age-85.html

I loved her when I was younger. I've mentioned this before but I lived overseas in various places a lot throughout my childhood and back then you basically had two options for TV- you watched that country's programmes (which were always obviously in their language) or you watch AFN/international satellite channels which basically consisted of years behind soap operas, Cheers/Bewitched/The Jeffersons, and old films. They would run her old films constantly so we saw basically all of them. Even though this was years and years after the depression, you could still feel the warmth that they gave off. I have no doubt she was a huge comfort during that time.

My grandmother grew up in the 30s (not in America) and loved to go to the cinema as a child. She remembers going to see Shirley Temple films and how much joy she brought even to them. Her father went to America on some sort of business trip and brought her back a Shirley Temple doll which she still has Ina case hanging on her wall.

I think her films still hold up. My sister (who's ten) has seen several and enjoys them. My stepmother told me she bought a boxed set of the DVDs for my stepbrother, my stepsister, and my 5 year old sister to watch and that they also enjoyed them. I think they're pretty timeless.