21 Adorable Photos of Sharon Tate as a Child in the 1940s and 1950s

“Sharon had a magnificent life. Born into a family who loved her very much, she had a wonderful childhood. She traveled the world. She became a film star who many say was the most beautiful of her generation. She was talented. She met and married the man of her dreams. She experienced impending motherhood. She achieved so much in such a brief time, made a significant impact, and continues to fascinate and delight the world. It is important that her life be celebrated for these reasons.” — Debra Tate, Sharon’s younger sister.

Sharon Marie Tate was born on January 24, 1943, in Dallas, Texas, the eldest of three daughters to Colonel Paul James Tate, a United States Army intelligence officer, and his wife, Doris Gwendolyn. At six months of age, Tate won the “Miss Tiny Tot of Dallas Pageant,” but her parents had no show business ambitions for their daughter. Paul Tate was promoted and transferred several times.

By the age of 16, Tate had lived in six cities and reportedly found it difficult to maintain friendships. Her family described her as shy and lacking in self-confidence. As an adult, Tate commented that people would misinterpret her shyness as aloofness until they knew her better.

Tate attended South Shaver Elementary in Pasadena, Texas through 1955, Chief Joseph Junior High School (now middle school) from September 1955 to June 1958, and Columbia High School in Richland, Washington, from September 1958 to October 1959. In El Paso, Texas, she attended Irvin High School from late fall 1959 to April 1960 and then Vicenza American High School in Vicenza, Italy, from April 1960 to graduation in June 1961.

Sharon Tate’s childhood laid the foundation for her later career in Hollywood, where she became an iconic actress and model of the 1960s, tragically cut short by her untimely death in 1969. Below is a collection of 21 childhood photos of Sharon Tate from the 1940s and early 1950s: