Barbie hits the cinemas: The evolution of the world’s most famous doll

AFTER months of Barbie mania in the lead-up to the release of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie to cinemas, the day has finally come! The American comedy fantasy film hit South African this week and parents, children and everybody in between will no doubt be flocking to the cinemas to see what all the hype has been about. But for a lot of us, Barbie is not a new concept; since she was first launched in 1959, a doll named Barbie has captured the hearts of millions across the globe. Come with us as we dive into the history of Barbie and explore some fun facts about the Barbie franchise and her popularity throughout the years.

Who created Barbie?

Barbie was created by Mattel. The company was founded in January 1945 and is responsible for other popular toy series, such as Hot Wheels, Fischer-Price, Monster High and Polly Pocket. Mattel was co-founded by Ruth Handler and her husband, Elliot.

What is Barbie’s full name?

Barbie’s full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts. The doll is named after Handler’s daughter, Barbara, who was the inspiration behind Barbie’s creation.

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The history of Barbie

Barbie was created by Ruth Handler of Mattel who was the principal architect of the doll’s campaign.

Handler was inspired by watching her daughter play with paper dolls that resembled adult women. At the time, baby dolls were the popular toy. There were not many dolls on the market that allowed girls to role-play and envision their future beyond motherhood.

Initially, Handler’s idea was not met with excitement as her husband and fellow industry executives were apprehensive about an adult-bodied doll.

Barbie’s design was modeled after the Bild Lilli doll, which was created in the image of a German comic strip character. Lilli was initially marketed toward adults, eventually becoming popular among children who enjoyed dressing up the doll.

Mattel bought the rights to Lilli and made their own version: Barbie.

The first Barbie was introduced on March 9, 1959 – now considered Barbie’s official birthday. It was first launched at the American Toy Fair in New York City.

The first Barbie, often referred to as ‘No. 1’, was a reflection of the style at the time. She was available in two versions: One with blonde hair and one with brunette, both sporting a ponytail with curly bangs. She wore a black-and-white-striped, strapless swimsuit, a set of gold hoops and black heels.

Within its first year, 350 000 Barbies were sold, and the public’s love for the doll has only grown. In 2021, over 86 million Barbie dolls were sold, which is around 164 Barbies sold every minute.

Perhaps no other doll is more famous than Barbie. While many know the statuesque modern version, many don’t know the origins of Barbie.

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The evolution of Barbie

The first Barbie doll was introduced in New York in 1959, in a blonde and brunette version, wearing a zebra-print one-piece swimsuit and white sunglasses with a closet of fashion clothes. Barbie became an instant success, and the inventors of the Bild Lilli doll sued Mattel for copyright infringement, but Mattel ended up buying the rights for Bild Lilli in 1963 for $21 600 (equivalent to over $200 000 today).

In 1961, the Ken doll was introduced, named after the Handlers’ son, as Barbie’s boyfriend. For the next 60 years, Barbie has become a cultural phenomenon with the launch of Barbies in a variety of costumes and professions, from Astronaut Barbie to President Barbie, as celebrity versions – Twiggy was the first celebrity Barbie in 1967, and historical figures – Amelia Earhart and Frida Kahlo.

The most expensive vintage Barbie ever sold was a 1965 model in a midnight-red gown and cape that achieved over $17 000 at Christie’s in 2006. However, you can find vintage Barbies on Barnebys for as low as $100. Today, over a billion dolls have been sold as new models have been introduced, and the company has branched into media with movies, TV and video games.

There are few toys – and few fictional characters – as iconic as Barbie. To some, her plastic blonde locks and impossibly cinched waist are symbols of all the wrong messages society sends to young girls. To others, Barbie is an outlet for creativity – in fashion, careers and role-playing the social scenarios of families and friends that children notice all around them. To the rest of the world, Barbie defies categorisation – encompassing the good and the bad.

In the over 50 years of her reign, Barbie has proven to be a near-constant cultural touchstone. The history of America’s most iconic doll is embedded in American culture and the larger changes that have shaped the past half-century – including feminism, the Civil Rights Movement and evolving conceptions of gender. From her swimsuit debut in 1959 to the Balmain ready-to-wear collaboration of 2022, Barbie remains relevant.

Today, Barbie is no longer just for girls. She is more diverse, and so is Ken. The dolls now come in a variety of body shapes, skin tones, and hairstyles. Mattel has invested in a more diverse future in the hopes that Barbie can shed her white, able-bodied, ultra-thin image that many have been damaging. Barbie and her friends are championing more diversity and inclusion, mirroring the reality of modern society.

With more than 250 careers on her resume – from registered nurse to rock star, veterinarian to aerobics instructor, pilot to police officer – Barbie continues to take on aspirational and culturally relevant roles while also serving as a role model and agent of change for girls.

She first broke the ‘plastic ceiling’ in the 1960s when, as an astronaut, she went to the moon… four years before Neil Armstrong.

In the 1980s, she took to the boardroom as ‘Day to Night’ CEO Barbie, just as women began to break into the C-suite. And in the 1990s, she ran for President before any female candidate ever made it onto the presidential ballot.

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