Shirley Temple, the legendary former child star, died on Monday night at her California home. She was 85.

In the 1930s and early 1940s, Temple appeared in dozens of films and became one of the most popular actors in the world. From 1935 to 1939, she was America's top draw at the box office, besting movie stars like Clark Gable, Bing Crosby, Robert Taylor, and Gary Cooper.

As she grew older, however, he popularity waned, and she retired at the age of 22.

Despite making millions by her early teens, Temple went on to have a relatively normal family life. She raised three children, a daughter from her first marriage and a daughter and son from her second. After marrying her second husband Charles Alden Black, she worked as a Republican fundraiser and served as U.S. Ambassador to Ghana from 1974 to 1976 and Czechoslovakia in 1989. Temple, who had a mastectomy in 1972 to remove her cancerous left breast, is also credited with publicizing discussions about breast cancer.

In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked her as one of the 50 greatest screen legends of all time.

"We salute her for a life of remarkable achievements as an actor, as a diplomat, and most importantly as our beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and adored wife for fifty-five years of the late and much missed Charles Alden Black, " a family statement said.

[Photo via AP]