I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph. – Shirley Temple
Politicians are actors, too, don’t you think? Usually, if you like people and you’re outgoing, not a shy little thing, you can do pretty well in politics. – Shirley Temple
The U.N. acts as the world’s conscience, and over eighty-five percent of the work that is done by the United Nations is in the social, economic, educational and cultural fields. – Shirley Temple
I’ve led three lives: the acting part, wife and mother – which is a career – and international relations. I’m proud of my career, the first one, and I’m proud of the other two, too. – Shirley Temple
By the time I got to the Fox studio for my first major film, I knew how to hit a mark. I knew how to memorize lines. I knew how to pay attention. – Shirley Temple
I’m not too proud of the movies I made as a grownup except for ‘That Hagen Girl’, which nobody remembers but which gave me a chance to act. – Shirley Temple
Make-believe colors the past with innocent distortion, and it swirls ahead of us in a thousand ways in science, in politics, in every bold intention. – Shirley Temple
I hate that song ‘Mr. Bojangles.’ It drives me up the wall, since it’s not about him at all. He was never a bum in jail. – Shirley Temple
I’ve been blessed with three wonderful careers: motion pictures and television, wife, mother and grandmother… and diplomatic services for the United States government. – Shirley Temple
We would have to invent the U.N. if we did not have it, which is not an original thought. – Shirley Temple
When I asked my mother why crowds shouted my name and said ‘We love you,’ she would dust it off by saying, ‘Your work makes them happy.’ She never let it go to my head. – Shirley Temple
Most of the people in Ghana wouldn’t know me as an actress. They’d know me for my work at the U.N. – Shirley Temple
I loved what I did. I remember cruel mothers who would pinch their children to make them cry in a scene, but my mother encircled me with affection. – Shirley Temple
At the end of the Depression, people were perhaps looking for something to cheer themselves up. They fell in love with a dog and a little girl. It won’t happen again. – Shirley Temple
I work a seventeen hour day, and I’m personally responsible for 108 staff members in the embassy. – Shirley Temple
When you’re a performer, you have to please a large audience. And when you’re in politics, you have to please a large audience, too. – Shirley Temple
