Most technologically relevant ferroelectrics typically lose piezoelectricity above the Curie temperature. This limits their use to relatively low temperatures. In this Letter, exploiting a combination of flexoelectricity and simple functional grading, we propose a strategy for high-temperature electromechanical coupling in a standard thin film configuration. We use continuum modeling to quantitatively demonstrate the possibility of achieving apparent piezoelectric materials with large and temperature-stable electromechanical coupling across a wide temperature range that extends significantly above the Curie temperature. With Barium and Strontium Titanate, as example materials, a significant electromechanical coupling that is potentially temperature-stable up to 900 C is possible. A piezoelectric material couples electric fields with mechanical stress and deformation. It enables the conversion of stimuli and energy between electromagnetism and mechanics, and has important applications that range from energy harvesting to artificial muscles.1 Perovskites such as Barium Titanate (BaTiO 3 ) and Lead Titanate (PbTiO 3 ) are two widely used materials that exhibit a fairly high electromechanical coupling.2-4 The piezoelectricity in these materials, which are also ferroelectric, are driven by an asymmetric distribution of charges in the atomic unit cell. Above the Curie temperature (T c ), the crystal structure transforms to a centrosymmetric state, and both ferroelectricity and piezoelectricity disappear. For example, at T c ¼ 120 C in BaTiO 3 , it transforms from a non-centrosymmetric tetragonal crystal to a centrosymmetric cubic crystal. The loss of piezoelectricity at such (relatively) low temperatures hinders their potential application to areas ranging from hypersonics to oil extraction, which require high-temperature energy harvesting, harsh environment sensing, and actuation, among others.We exploit flexoelectricity as the first element of our strategy to go beyond this limitation. Flexoelectricity denotes the coupling between polarization and strain gradients; this is in contrast to piezoelectricity that relates polarization to strains. The difference between piezoelectricity and flexoelectricity can be readily observed from the following equation:where, P i is the electric polarization, S jk is the strain tensor, e ijk is the third order piezoelectric tensor, and f ijkl is the fourth order flexoelectric tensor. Flexoelectricity is a property that is displayed by all dielectrics to some degree. Thus, in a centrosymmetric material, where the piezoelectric tensor e vanishes, non-uniform strains can still induce a polarization. Flexoelectricity is mediated through the fourth-order tensor f, and unlike e, symmetry principles permit its existence in all types of crystal structure and not just non-centrosymmetric crystals. For instance, while BaTiO 3 will cease to be piezoelectric above T c ¼ 120 C, it can still display flexoelectricity. Flexoelectricity has recently received much attention, e.g., it suggests tantali...