Shirley Temple’s Kids Share Memories of Their “Extraordinary” Mother

Only in the new issue of Closer Weekly, Shirley Temple’s children share memories of the woman they remember as “extraordinary.”

Motherhood was a special part of Shirley Temple Black’s life, and one that made her equally beloved by her children — Susan, 67, Charles Jr., 63, and Lori, 61— as she was by her fans.

Shirley in 1935.

“She was the most optimistic person you can imagine,” her son, Charles Black Jr., told Closer at the unveiling of Love, Shirley Temple, an exhibition and auction of Shirley’s costumes and memorabilia traveling the country this summer. “She had good energy and a wonderful sense of humor. She was extraordinary.”

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“As a mother, she was devoted and generous, although she could be a little bit stern if we didn’t behave,” admits her daughter Susan. “But family was a really, really important part of her life. She was all about her children and her husband.”

Shirley with her husband and three children.

“She was a wonderful cook,” Shirley’s daughter Susan Black Falaschi exclusively tells Closer. “She loved to invite people over. She would say, ‘Come by my house and I’ll make you leg of lamb.’ She made a beautiful lamb and was famous for her mashed potatoes!”

Like the little girl in the pictures, the real Shirley “was always up for an adventure, always interested in what was happening and very involved with the world, always,” says her daughter Susan. So much so that in later years, she was stationed abroad as a U.S. ambassador.

Still, even with all her success her son Charles says, “My mother would say that her family was her biggest accomplishment.”