Late last night, on Monday, February 10th, 2014, the most iconic and famous child star of the 20th century, Shirley Temple, passed away in her California home. Although Temple’s claim to fame was her 20th Century Fox movies, such as The Little Princess, Heidi, and Curly Top, after 1940, she stopped her successful acting career to explore bigger and better things. Eventually becoming a U.S. Diplomat, and a huge cultural icon. Temple is greatly remembered, even 75 years after she stopped making films.

When I read on CNN that Shirley Temple passed away, I was shocked and surprised. But her death hit especially close to home for me. When I was a little girl, adults (and even other kids) would always compare me to Shirley Temple. I was a short, cute little redhead with a curly bob, just like the famous child star.

“Sing Animal Crackers in my Soup, Lilly!” People would beg, and my Shirley Temple impression became something everyone around me loved.

Being compared to Shirley Temple was like a dream to Little-Lilly. I was absolutely obsessed with Shirley Temple. I had a copy of The Little Princess on VHS that I watched so many times that the tape literally stopped working (Remember VHS tapes? Those were the days…)

As I grew up, I started to look less and less like Shirley Temple, and the requests for me to sing Animal Crackers in my Soup became fewer and fewer. Although I stopped being compared to the adorable child star, I still loved her movies and her characters. As I grew up even more, and learned that Temple was not just a child star, but a political figure, my love for her became even stronger.

Lots of child stars grow up and go off the deep end, doing drugs and getting arrested (think Lindsay Lohan and Amanda Bynes). But Temple, the most famous child star of all time, was not like every other child star, whose fame went to their heads. Instead, Temple realized she could no longer make a difference with her movies, so she made a difference in the world of politics.

Temple accomplished a lot in the world of politics. She became a United Nations representative in the 1960s, and in the ‘70s, she became an ambassador to Ghana. After that, Temple became the first woman Chief of Protocol for the United States. She was then in charge of Jimmy Carter’s inauguration and inaugural ball, before ending her political career as a diplomat to Czechoslovakia.

Shirley Temple lived a very full life. From the beginning of her career in the limelight, she inspired and brightened the lives of Americans during the Great Depression with her adorable performances in wonderful, mood-lightening movies that are still remembered and loved 75 years later. Not only did she impact people’s lives with her movies, she also positively impacted the lives of people in Ghana and Czechoslovakia. For 85 years, Shirley Temple was a loved pop culture and political figure. She will not be forgotten.