Born in Charleroi, PA; named after the child star Shirley Temple. She started singing at the age of six and started formal training at the age of 12 and would dream of singing with her idol, Gordon MacRae. Upon graduating from high school, she went to New York to audition for the casting director of Rodgers & Hammerstein. Taken by her beautifully trained voice, she wa signed as a nurse in the Broadway production of South Pacific. Within a year, she would be in Hollywood to appear in her first film OKLAHOMA! as the farm girl in love with cowboy Gordon MacRae. After shooting concluded, Jones returned to Broadway for the stage production of Oklahoma!, before returning to Hollywood for CAROUSEL (1956). As a musical comedy star, she became typecast in films as a sweet, wholesome young lady but won an Academy Award as best supporting actress for her role as a prostitute in ELMER GANTRY (1960). The public wanted her "sweet," though, so she starred as Marian "The Librarian" Paroo opposite Robert Preston in THE MUSIC MAN (1962). She continued in films into the early 1970s, but then was seen most often on TV. She appeared on the stage, on TV, and in nightclubs with her onetime husband, the late singer Jack Cassidy. She co-starred with her stepson, David Cassidy, in the TV series "The Partridge Family." In 1977, she married actor Marty Ingels. She is the national chairman of the Leukemia Foundation.  Supporting Actress 1960: ELMER GANTRY 1 nomination, 1 Award