The Barbie doll was first introduced at a Toy Fair in New York by the Mattel toy company. The day was March 9,1959. and from then on this date is also celebrated as her official birthday. When Barbie was first introduced she had a black and white swim suite and her hair style was either blonde or brunette. It was in a pony tail with bangs. The first Barbie had eyes with white irises, blue eyeliner, and arched eyebrows.
The inventor of the Barbie doll is Ruth Handler, co-founder of Mattel. She named the doll after her daughter, Barbara. The Ken doll made his debut two years after Barbie, in 1961 and was named after the 16 year old son of Mattel founders Ruth and Elliot Handler. Ruth has said that “Barbie was created so little girls could have choices about their futures.”
Barbie’s design was inspired by a German doll called Bild Lilli. Mattel acquired the rights to the Bild Lilli doll in 1964 and production of Lilli was stopped.
Barbie’s full name is Barbie Millicent Roberts. She is from Willows, Wisconsin, and went to Willows High School. Her favorite color is pink.
The best selling Barbie doll ever was Totally Hair Barbie, with hair from the top of her head to her toes. She was first introduced in 1992.
In Sweden, more Barbie dolls have been sold than the country’s current population. In 1980, in India, Barbie cost 236 rupees which is $18.00 US dollars which was equivalent to an average Indians entire months salary.
In 1968 Barbie talked in English and Spanish. Her first words were “Let’s have a costume party.” She also said “I think mini-skirts are smashing!” “Stacey and I are having tea!” “Me encanta ser una modelo.” “Oh dear, what shall I wear to dinner?”
Ruth Handler watched her daughter Barbara at play with paper dolls, and noticed that she often enjoyed giving them adult roles. At the time, most children’s toy dolls were representations of infants. Realizing that there could be a gap in the market, Handler suggested the idea of an adult-bodied doll to her husband Elliot, a co-founder of the Mattel Toy company. He was unenthusiastic about the idea, as were Mattel’s directors.
Barbie was one of the first toy to have a marketing strategy based extensively on television advertising, which has been copied widely by other toys. It is estimated that over a billion Barbie dolls have been sold worldwide in over 150 countries, with Mattel claiming that three Barbie dolls are sold every second.” Source wikipedia
Barbie has 43 pets with her first pet being a poodle that came packed with a box of accessories called Dog ‘N Duds. She continued on to have more pet dogs, cats, parrots, chimpanzee, ponies, lion cub, panda, parrot, several horses and a zebra.
Barbie’s first career was as a teenage fashion model. She has since had other careers including astronaut, rock star, paleontologist, presidential candidate, and Olympic ice skater, as well as many others.
1n 1974 First Lady Betty Ford helped Barbie celebrate her 16th birthday in Washington D.C.
In 1984 Barbie is sold with the slogan “We girls can do anything”. Day-to-Night” Barbie comes with a briefcase, calculator, newspaper and business card. Also in 1984 to celebrate the anniversary, tiffany creates a $50,000 sterling silver Barbie.
Barbie introduced a rap group in 1990 called “Barbie, and the Beats.”
In 2000, Barbie doll has a belly button for the first time.
In 2007 the average 3- to 10-year-old girl in the U.S. owns eight Barbies.
When placed from head to toe, one after the other, Barbie dolls and other dolls in the series can circle the earth seven times.
Lynda “Wonder Woman” Carter: ” the thing I remember most about Barbie is her high heels. I wanted some just like hers… My mother’s closet was raided from that point on – she had to lock up her shoes…”
