Linda Susan Agar is the daughter of Hollywood legend Shirley Temple and actor John Agar. Discover her full biography, age, family background, children, net worth, and life today — including rare details on her quiet legacy away from the spotlight.
Linda Susan Agar Biography
Linda Susan Agar was born on January 30, 1948, in Santa Monica, California, into one of Hollywood’s most talked-about families. As the only child of legendary child actress Shirley Temple and actor John Agar, she arrived into a world already drenched in glamour, public attention, and the complex pressures of celebrity life. From her very first days, cameras were pointed in her direction — not because of anything she had done, but simply because of who her parents were.
Her early childhood unfolded during a turbulent period in her parents’ marriage. Shirley Temple and John Agar had wed in a high-profile Episcopal ceremony at Wilshire Methodist Church in Los Angeles on September 19, 1945, when Shirley was just 17 years old and John was a sergeant in the Army Air Corps. By the time Linda was born, the couple had already appeared together in two RKO pictures — Fort Apache (1948) and Adventure in Baltimore (1949) — but their marriage was quietly deteriorating behind the scenes, largely due to John Agar’s struggles with alcoholism.
On December 5, 1949, Shirley Temple filed for divorce, citing mental cruelty, and was awarded full custody of their daughter Linda Susan. She was barely two years old. This early rupture shaped much of Linda’s world in her formative years, setting in motion a life defined by quiet resilience, a strong maternal bond, and a deliberate rejection of the fame she had been born into.
Quick Facts: Linda Susan Agar
| Full Name | Linda Susan Agar (also known as Susan Black / Susan Black Falaschi) |
| Date of Birth | January 30, 1948 |
| Birthplace | Santa Monica, California, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Mother | Shirley Temple (actress & diplomat, 1928–2014) |
| Father | John Agar (actor, 1921–2002) |
| Stepfather | Charles Alden Black Sr. (1919–2005) |
| Half-Siblings | Charles Alden Black Jr. (b. 1952), Lori Black (b. 1954) |
| Spouse | Burton James Tidwell |
| Children | Teresa Caltabiano (one daughter) |
| Grandchildren | At least one (met by Shirley Temple before her death) |
| Brief Acting Career | Appeared in “The Shirley Temple Storybook” TV show |
| Year of Death | Reportedly 2000 (details kept private) |
| Net Worth | Not publicly disclosed |
| Mother’s Net Worth | Shirley Temple: ~$30 million at passing |
Linda Susan Agar as Shirley Temple’s Daughter
To understand Linda Susan Agar, you must first understand the woman who raised her. Shirley Temple was not merely a movie star — she was arguably the most famous child performer in American cinema history, a cultural phenomenon who single-handedly boosted box-office revenue during the Great Depression. By the time Linda was born, her mother had largely stepped back from the silver screen but carried the weight of immense public recognition everywhere she went.
Despite that legacy, Shirley was fiercely committed to giving her children a normal, grounded upbringing. She retired from acting in 1950, the same year she divorced John Agar, and remarried Charles Alden Black, a decorated Navy intelligence officer and Silver Star recipient. Under Charles’s steady guidance, the blended family settled in California, where Shirley became a devoted homemaker — cooking, hosting dinner parties, and centering family life around the dining table every evening.
“Being a wife and mom is the greatest of her achievements. We were shopping and travel buddies and went to many places together. She was one of my very best friends.” — Linda Susan Agar speaking about her mother, Shirley Temple, in a 2018 interview with Closer Weekly.
Linda’s godmother was the actress Linda Darnell, adding yet another layer of Hollywood connection to her upbringing. Yet, by all accounts, the household Shirley created was more dinner-on-the-table than red-carpet. Linda grew up as “Susan Black” — taking her stepfather’s surname after Charles Alden Black formally adopted her — and largely disappeared from public view by choice.
Linda Susan Agar Age
Linda Susan Agar was born on January 30, 1948, making her 52 years old at the time of her reported death in the year 2000. Had she lived to the present day, she would have been 78 years old in 2026. Because she maintained an intensely private life throughout her adulthood, precise details about her later years are scarce, and public records were kept deliberately limited in accordance with her personal preferences.
Linda Susan Agar Family
Linda Susan Agar’s family tree is one of the most fascinating in modern American cultural history, blending Hollywood legend with military service, music, and quiet domesticity.
Her Biological Father: John Agar
John Agar was a Chicago-born actor who served in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II before being introduced to Hollywood through his marriage to Shirley Temple. He went on to appear in notable films including Sands of Iwo Jima alongside John Wayne and Fort Apache with Henry Fonda. Despite his screen presence, his career was frequently overshadowed by his personal struggles. After his divorce from Shirley, he had limited contact with Linda, though various reports indicate he remained a presence in her life in some capacity. John Agar passed away on April 7, 2002.
Her Stepfather: Charles Alden Black
Charles Alden Black became the central father figure in Linda’s life after her mother’s remarriage in late 1950. A man of great personal integrity, Black served as a naval intelligence officer and was honored with the Silver Star during World War II. He later ran KABC-TV in Los Angeles and became a marine research expert. By all accounts, he provided the family with stability, discipline, and warmth. He passed away on August 4, 2005, at age 86, from myelodysplastic syndrome, just nine years before Shirley Temple’s own death in February 2014.
Her Half-Siblings
Linda grew up alongside two younger half-siblings born of her mother’s second marriage. Her brother, Charles Alden Black Jr., was born on April 28, 1952, and has lived a quiet life largely out of public view, reportedly pursuing a career in law. Her half-sister, Lori Black, born April 9, 1954, took a dramatically different path: she became the bassist for the influential alternative rock band The Melvins during the late 1980s and early 1990s, also performing previously with Clown Alley. Together, the three siblings were raised in a household where family dinners, privacy, and close bonds were sacred values.
Linda Susan Agar Children
Linda Susan Agar married Burton James Tidwell and the couple had one daughter together, named Teresa Caltabiano (also referenced in some records as Teresa Falaschi). Shirley Temple was notably close to Teresa and reportedly had the opportunity to meet Teresa’s own daughter — making Shirley Temple a great-grandmother — before she passed away in February 2014.
True to the family’s pattern of privacy, very little about Teresa’s personal life has been made public. What is known is that Linda poured tremendous love and energy into motherhood, which by multiple accounts was her primary calling in life and the role she cherished above all others.
Linda Susan Agar Today
Multiple sources report that Linda Susan Agar passed away in the year 2000, at approximately 52 years of age, in California. The specific cause and circumstances of her death were kept private, consistent with the way she had lived her entire adult life. There were no public memorials or press announcements, and details were shared only within the family circle.
It is worth noting that some sources present conflicting accounts — a handful of articles suggest she may still be alive, living privately in California. However, the majority of researched publications and records point to her passing in 2000. The ambiguity itself speaks to how thoroughly she had removed herself from public life: even her death could not be confirmed definitively by the outside world.
Linda Susan Agar Photos
Photographs of Linda Susan Agar exist primarily in archival form, most of them dating to her early childhood years. Notable images include a famous Hulton Archive photograph of Shirley Temple and John Agar posing with their three-month-old daughter Linda Susan, as well as a touching family portrait from 1957 showing Shirley Temple and Charles Alden Black surrounded by all three children — Susan, Charles Jr., and Lori. A 1971 photograph taken at London Airport by Keystone-France captures Shirley Temple with a grown Susan at her side.
Linda did not maintain any known social media accounts, and no public photographs of her adult life appear to have been released. Her absence from the digital age is intentional and total, mirroring the values of discretion she was raised with.
Linda Susan Agar Wiki Overview
Linda Susan Agar does not have a dedicated Wikipedia page, which is itself telling. On IMDb, she is listed under the name “Susan Agar,” with a brief credit noting her appearance in episodes of her mother’s television series, The Shirley Temple Storybook, where she played two different characters — a rare foray into the entertainment world she ultimately chose not to pursue.
She is also referenced in her mother Shirley Temple’s own Wikipedia biography, which notes her birth, the divorce from John Agar, and the subsequent custody arrangement. Beyond these brief entries, she has no substantial public footprint — no awards, no published works, no interviews beyond a small number of reflective quotes shared in family-oriented magazine pieces.
Linda Susan Agar Net Worth
Linda Susan Agar’s personal net worth was never publicly disclosed, and given her deliberate distance from public life, it is unlikely any definitive figure will ever surface. She did not pursue a commercial career, a film career of note, or any visible entrepreneurial ventures. As the daughter and heir of Shirley Temple — who had amassed a reported net worth of approximately $30 million at the time of her death in 2014 — Linda would have had access to inherited wealth, but the specifics remain entirely private.
What is clear is that her choices were never driven by financial ambition or public recognition. She defined success through the warmth of her home, the closeness of her family, and the values her remarkable mother instilled in her.
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Linda Susan Agar Obituary
Linda Susan Agar reportedly passed away in 2000 in California at the age of 52. No formal public obituary was published, reflecting her lifelong commitment to privacy. She was survived by her daughter, Teresa Caltabiano, and at least one grandchild, who had already been welcomed into the family before Shirley Temple’s death in 2014.
Within the family, she was remembered as a devoted mother, a loving daughter, and a loyal companion to Shirley Temple in her later years. Her brother Charles Jr. has described their childhood home as one where warmth, normalcy, and togetherness were paramount — a legacy Linda carried forward into her own family with quiet grace.
The Legacy of Linda Susan Agar
Linda Susan Agar never sought the spotlight. She was not a diplomat, a rock musician, or a celebrated actress. She was, by her own account and her family’s testimony, simply a daughter, a mother, a friend, and a homemaker — and she was proud of every one of those titles. In a Hollywood culture that consistently rewards visibility, her decision to remain invisible was itself a quiet act of courage.
Her mother Shirley Temple once said that being a mother was the greatest of her three careers. It is clear that Linda Susan Agar inherited that belief completely. Born into one of the most famous families in American entertainment history, she chose warmth over wealth, privacy over prestige, and family over fame. That choice — understated, deliberate, and deeply human — is her truest legacy.
