Entertainment Movies Jane Withers, Former Child Star Who Worked with Shirley Temple and James Dean, Dead at 95 "My mother was such a special lady," Kendall Errair said in a statement about her Hollywood legend mother Jane Withers, who died Saturday in Burbank, Calif., surrounded by loved ones By Glenn Garner Glenn Garner Instagram Twitter Glenn Garner is a Writer/Reporter who works heavily with PEOPLE's Movies and TV verticals. Since graduating from Northern Arizona University with a dual major in journalism and photography, he got his professional start at OUT Magazine, The Advocate and Teen Vogue, and he's since consistently kept his finger on the pulse of the LGBTQ community. His first book The Guncle Guide was released in 2020 and was featured on Katie Couric's list of 100 recommended books of the year. People Editorial Guidelines Published on August 8, 2021 06:40 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Jesse Grant/WireImage; Film Favorites/Getty Jane Withers, a legend of Hollywood's Golden Age, has died. She was 95. The former child star died Saturday in Burbank, California, surrounded by loved ones, her daughter confirms to PEOPLE. "My mother was such a special lady. She lit up a room with her laughter, but she especially radiated joy and thankfulness when talking about the career she so loved and how lucky she was," Withers' daughter Kendall Errair said in a statement. Withers got her big break in the 1934 film Bright Eyes, starring opposite Shirley Temple. She stole scenes as Joy Smythe, the spoiled 8-year-old daughter of a family who employs the mother of Temple's character as a maid. Jane Withers Is Cleaning Up The actress subsequently signed a seven-year contract with Fox Film Corporation, appearing in three to five films a year. She got her first starring role in the 1935 feature Ginger, which began filming on her 9th birthday. Withers played an orphan who's taken in by a rich family after her uncle gets arrested. She later wrote and starred in the 1941 teen movie Small Town Deb, which she penned under a pseudonym in attempt to get more mature roles in Hollywood. Bettmann/Getty At 21, Withers retired from Hollywood to focus on starting a family, marrying twice and raising five children. She later returned to Los Angeles in 1955, where she attended film school at University of Southern California. She starred alongside James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor, and Rock Hudson in the 1956 movie Giant. Withers later played Josephine the Plumber in commercials for Comet, which ran from 1963 to 1974. Celebrities Who've Died in 2021 Withers was born in Atlanta on April 12, 1926. Her mother named her Jane, so that "even with a long last name like Withers, it would fit on a marquee." The young talent began tap lessons at age 2, and she was cast in the Saturday morning children's show Aunt Sally's Kiddie Revue after winning a local contest. By age 3, Withers landed her own radio show, in which she sang, danced, joked, and impersonated movie stars, in addition to interviewing celebs that passed through Atlanta. RELATED VIDEO: Childhood Star Shirley Temple Dies At Age 85 She and her mother moved to Los Angeles just before her 6th birthday to pursue a career in Hollywood. "Mother was determined to have only one child, a girl, who would go into show business, which she had wanted to do so much herself," Withers told PEOPLE in 1974. "In fact, Mother turned down several marriage proposals because the men wouldn't go along with the plan," she continued. "When she was carrying me she'd study movie marquees trying to decide on a name to go with Withers. She taught me to sing, although she doesn't sing on pitch herself. Luckily I do, although I never know what key I'm singing in. She'd take me to the movies when I was 2 and 3 so I could learn."