Shirley Temple Dies At 85

To this day, Shirley Temple, the girl who sang and danced her way into our hearts remained popular.

Film critic Leonard Maltin told INSIDE EDITION, "There is no question she is the biggest star ever."

She was the top box-office draw from 1935 to 1938, a cheerful antidote to the Great Depression.

Little Shirley helped break down racial barriers when she danced and held hands with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.

You won't believe the legendary role she didn't get. She was all set to play Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, but 20th Century Fox wouldn't lend her to MGM. So the role went to Judy Garland.

We all know about Temple’s service to America. She served as ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia. Many don't know that Temple was an early advocate of breast cancer awareness, speaking out after she underwent an operation for the disease in 1972.

In 1998, she said, "When I was diagnosed having breast cancer back in 1972, I wrote an article saying, 'Don't sit home and be afraid.'"

She made more than $3 million from the movies, but reportedly had just $44,000 in the bank by the time she was an adult due to mismanagement by her parents.

Maltin said, "When she turned 21, she discovered that her father, who worked in a bank, had squandered all of her money. Not maliciously, not intentionally, but foolishly. Bad investments, poor choices."

In 2006, she was given a Life Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild.

Shirley Temple was 85 years old, but she'll forever be remembered as that adorable child, facing the future with a song in her heart.