BARBIE
Barbie (Barbara Millicent Roberts) is an iconic fashion doll and global pop culture phenomenon created by Ruth Handler and launched by Mattel on March 9, 1959. Having worked in over 200 careers, Barbie has expanded from a physical doll line into a massive multimedia franchise encompassing animated films, streaming series, video games, comic books, and a blockbuster live-action feature film.
Cronologia
Biography
Barbie, formally named Barbara Millicent Roberts, is a fashion icon, career role model, and multi-media protagonist created by Mattel co-founder Ruth Handler.
Appearing across toys, books, animated films, television series, and live-action cinema, Barbie represents unlimited potential, creative exploration, and modern empowerment for generations of fans.
Throughout her narrative history, Barbie serves as a versatile figure who transitions between contemporary everyday settings—such as high school student, vlogger, and pet owner—to legendary fantasy roles including princesses, fairies, mermaids, rock stars, and secret agents. She forms the central anchor of a large ecosystem of friends, family, and spin-off storylines such as My Scene and Barbie: Dreamtopia.
Origins & History
Barbie was created by Ruth Handler, who noticed that her daughter Barbara had limited choices when playing with dolls—mostly being confined to playing caregiver or mother with baby dolls—while her son Kenneth had a wide variety of toys portraying adult careers.
Handler conceived an adult fashion doll to help young girls project their future aspirations into any role they desired. Named after Handler's daughter, Barbie made her public debut at the New York Toy Fair on March 9, 1959, selling for $3.00.
Featuring her signature ponytail and a black-and-white striped swimsuit, her initial commercial aired on The Mickey Mouse Club. Despite early industry skepticism, the doll rapidly became a global cultural and commercial phenomenon.
I PEZZI DI BARBIE
Evolution of the Character
Since her creation in 1959, Barbie has continually transformed to reflect evolving societal roles, diverse body images, and modern entertainment media. Starting as a single ponytail fashion doll wearing a black-and-white swimsuit, Barbie quickly broke away from traditional play patterns by adopting over 200 distinct careers. Early milestones included Astronaut Barbie in 1965, high-fashion collaborations starting with Oscar de la Renta in 1984, and running for President of the United States every election year since 1992 (including a historical all-female ticket in 2016).
Diversity and inclusivity became defining elements of Barbie's evolution over the decades. Following the release of "Coloured Francie" (1967) and her friend Christie (1968), Mattel released the first Black and Hispanic dolls named Barbie in 1980. In 2016, Mattel debuted new body types in the Barbie Fashionistas line—Curvy, Petite, and Tall—alongside the Original silhouette, earning widespread international press coverage. Her storytelling media evolved in tandem: transitioning from 1987 television specials to a digital "virtual actress" in CGI fairy-tale movies (2001–2009), a hit YouTube vlogger (2015), and culminating in Greta Gerwig's 2023 live-action theatrical film starring Margot Robbie.
Collector's Guide
Barbie is one of the premier properties in global toy collecting, backed by an established collector community, annual national conventions since 1980, and specialized lines such as Barbie Signature. Barbie collecting surged significantly during the 1990s, driven by high-end designer collaborations and the growth of online auction marketplaces like eBay.
The holy grail for collectors remains a mint condition original 1959 blonde Barbie doll, one of which achieved $27,450 at auction in May 2006. In terms of mass-market popularity, 1992's Totally Hair™ Barbie stands as the single best-selling Barbie doll in Mattel's history. High-end custom releases have set record values: the unique 2010 Stefano Canturi Barbie—featuring a one-carat emerald-cut pink "Fancy Vivid" diamond—sold at auction for over $300,000 to support the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Other sought-after lines include the Sheroes series (2015), the Pantone #219C doll, and the Inspiring Women collection (2018).
Barbie has officially run for President of the United States in every single presidential election year since 1992.
