National Barbie Day: The 64-year-old doll was born to 'show girls they could be anything'
Camille Fine, USA TODAY
·2 min read
This combination photo shows Barbie in various incarnations at Leuralla NSW toy and railway museum, as the iconic doll approaches her 50th birthhday May 18, 2007 in Sydney, Australia. First launched at the New York Toy Show in 1959, Barbie has now become the largest selling toy ever produced. Barbie has worn the outfits of the great designers such as Dior, Ralph Lauren, Armani, Versace and many others, and has seen a career of almost 50 years of dramatic social, cultural and political changes.
On March 9, after a mother observed her daughter playing with paper dolls more than 60 years ago, an American icon was born and forever changed how children play.
Thursday is "National Barbie Day," which celebrates the iconic 11-inch-tall plastic doll with the figure of an adult woman that premiered in 1959 at the American International Toy Fair in New York.
In the decades since Harold Matson and Ruth and Elliot Handler launched their leading global toy company from a garage in 1945, according to Mattel, the company has created a variety of beloved franchises sold to children and families around the world.
ADVERTISEMENT
Inspired by her daughter, Barbara, Handler is credited with the creation of the first Barbara Millicent Roberts — AKA Barbie — who wore a black and white striped swimsuit and ponytail.
"Ruth Handler saw her daughter’s toy choices were limited. She could only play out being a mom or caregiver, whereas her son had toys that allowed him to imagine himself as a firefighter, astronaut, doctor, and more," Mattel says.
"This inspired Ruth to create a doll that showed girls they had choices — that they could be anything."
Barbie dolls are displayed during the exhibition "Barbie, life of an icon" at the Museum of Decorative Arts as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Fall/Winter 2016/2017 on March 9, 2016 in Paris, France.
According to Mattel, toy buyers were skeptical because Barbie was unlike the baby and toddler dolls that were popular at the time. They doubted she would be successful, but Barbie took the world by storm. Letting girls imagine their futures like never before from that moment on
Barbie has attempted to respond to criticism over the years through evolving the dolls’ race, style, shape and other features.
A young girl plays with two American "Barbie" dolls on display at the annual toy fair in Nurenberg, West Germany, February 17, 1965. Each doll comes complete with several changes of clothing, including swimming outfits, bridal gowns, and evening dresses, at a price of $250. (AP Photo)
Barbie doll creator Ruth Handler, left, gets a kiss from Kristi Cooke, an actress dressed as a Barbie doll, during the 35th birthday celebration for the doll at FAO Schwarz in New York City on March 9, 1994.
Astronaut Barbie dolls, from left, 1960s, 1980s and 1990s, are on display at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., Monday, May 1, 1995. (AP Photo/Greg Gibson)
A young girl holds the Spice Girls dolls which were unveiled at the Toy Retailers Fair in London by the Character Group which has exclusive rights to distribute the dolls in the UK Oct. 16, 1997.
Elizabeth Chrisostom, one of Malaysia's most avid doll collectors, wears an outfit that matches the "Promenade in the Park," Barbie she holds at her home in Kuala Lumpur, Oct. 1, 1999. Chrisostom has amassed more than 150 Barbie dolls since 1997. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Barbara Handler Segal, whose mother, Ruth Handler, created and named the Barbie doll after her, is surrounded by school children during a ceremony in which her hand and footprints were placed in wet cement in front of the Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard Nov. 13, 2002.
Two young Polish boys look at Barbie dolls in wedding dresses at an exhibition of more tham 100 Barbie and Ken dolls in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2006. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Aidia Bryant, 3, left, and her sister Cassidy Moock, 10, play with their Barbie dolls on Friday, Dec. 1, 2006 in Lorton, Va. "Barbies are awesome," says Cassidy, "they're like little people you get to dress yourself." Nearly 50 years after Mattel introduced her _ she has managed to thrive, especially in a time when classic toy makers have found themselves scrambling to attract new audiences. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
A girl looks at the Barbie dolls on display for sale inside a department store in Beijing in this Aug. 28, 2007 file photo.
Tina Dorfmann looks at parts of her "Barbie" doll exhibition in Cologne, western Germany, Friday, Aug. 31, 2007. At the Cologne city museum visitors may have a look to around 320 Barbie dolls during the exhibition fom Sept.1 to Oct. 28, 2007. (AP Photo/Roberto Pfeil)
FILE - In this Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2007, file photo, A Hannah Montana Singing Doll and Pop Star stage are shown at the Toy Wishes Holiday Preview in New York. Play Along’s Hannah Montana doll, based on Miley Cyrus’ hit Disney character, was on everyone’s “hot toy” list in 2007 and 2008. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
In this Feb. 14, 2008 file photo Barbie High School Musical is displayed at the American International Toy Fair in New York.
A Chinese girl walks past a Barbie doll in Statue of Liberty series on display at a Barbie dolls exhibition in Beijing, China, Thursday, April 30, 2009. The 139 series of limited edition and more than 2,000 Barbie dolls will be exhibited in Beijing from May 1 to 10 in conjunction with 50th years anniversary of Barbie dolls. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
A Barbie doll depicting German Chancellor Angela Merkel by toy manufacturer Mattel is on display in a toy shop in Hamburg, Germany, on Monday, March 9 , 2009.
Barbie dolls are displayed on April 6, 2009 in Paris during the "Barbie Fashion show 2009", an exhibition dedicated to the world's most famous toy, that takes places at the Galeries Lafayette store from April 6 to 25, 2009 to celebrate her 50th birthday. At left is the first Barbie doll, created in 1959.
Bollywood film actress Katrina Kaif launches India's first ever 'I can be a movie star' Barbie doll in Mumbai on May 4, 2011.
Claudine holds a Barbie doll next to the port in Port-du-Paix, Haiti, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011.
Silvia Neid, head coach of the German national women's football team, poses with two 'One Of A Kind Barbie' dolls representing herself and German striker Birgit Prinz at the Mattel stand during the International Toy Fair Nuernberg on February 3, 2011 in Nuremberg, Germany.
Children receive their holiday gifts and Barbie dolls depicting Jennifer Lopez at the event organized by Viva Movil for Jennifer Lopez who rings in the holiday season by giving back to her hometown of the Bronx at Viva Movil on December 14, 2013 in Bronx Borough of New York City.
BERLIN, GERMANY - MAY 16: Tamar, 4, who is visiting with her mother from Israel, looks at Barbie busts at the Barbie Dreamhouse Experience on May 16, 2013 in Berlin, Germany. The Barbie Dreamhouse is a life-sized house full of Barbie fashion, furniture and accessories and will be open to the public until August 25 before it moves on to other cities in Europe. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
A girl plays with Barbie dolls on April 17, 2015 in Paris, in a structure set-up close to a Barbie doll camper van which will tour 15 towns and cities in France. AFP PHOTO JOEL SAGET (Photo credit should read JOEL SAGET/AFP via Getty Images)
Joan Baumer of Fort Worth, TX, holds her Barbie doll as they wear matching Eliza Doolittle Embassy Ball gowns for the 2015 National Barbie Doll Collectors Convention fashion show at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City hotel July 31, 2015 in Arlington, Virginia. Now in its 35th year, the convention draws hundreds of collectors and fans from around the world for a week-long celebration of Barbie and the cultural phenomena that surrounds the famous fashion doll.
Barbie dolls are displayed during the exhibition "Barbie, life of an icon" at the Museum of Decorative Arts as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Fall/Winter 2016/2017 on March 9, 2016 in Paris, France.
Model Ashley Graham (L) and Lisa McKnight reveals the new Barbie at Glamour Women Of The Year 2016 LIVE Summit at NeueHouse Hollywood on November 14, 2016 in Los Angeles, California.
A Barbie doll "Death Day" version is displayed during the presentation in Mexico City, on September 12, 2019.
Camille Fine is a trending visual producer on USA TODAY's NOW team.
BEIJING (AP) — Chinese diplomats are pressuring lawmakers from at least six countries not to attend a China-focused summit in Taiwan, participants told The Associated Press.
Thousands of firefighters battling a wildfire in northern California are getting some help from the weather just hours after the blaze exploded in size, scorching an area larger than Los Angeles. But it is little consolation to the many who have had to evacuate or have lost their homes to the flames, including evacuee Susan Singleton and her 7 dogs. (AP Video by Eugene Garcia)
Polls suggest that Sunday's presidential election in Venezuela could bring an end to President Nicolas Maduro's 25-year grip on power. Tensions are high as the opposition has warned of possible irregularities and the incumbent has threatened a "bloodbath" if his challenger Edmundo Gonzales Urrutia is elected, drawing condemnation from world leaders including Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Venezuelans vote Sunday between continuity in President Nicolas Maduro or change in rival Edmundo Gonza
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Marvel Studios returned to San Diego Comic-Con with dancing Deadpool variants and a choir for a panel that included news about the next two “Avengers” films and surprise guests, including Harrison Ford and Robert Downey Jr.
Yahoo Finance 
