As Greta Gerwig’s Barbie hits the big screen, here’s a look back at the disparate history behind the doll
In 1959, the eternally young Barbara Millicent Roberts left her sleepy hometown of Willows, Wisconsin for the sunshine and growing glamour of Malibu, California, in search of something more than the average life she was expected to live.
It it against this cultural backdrop that Handler created the idea for Barbie, and it began specifically by watching her daughter play with toys that were traditionally marketed to young girls. The moment of glory did not strike Handler until she was holidaying with her family in Europe in the late 1950’s when she came across a 12-inch-tall plastic bombshell and saw the potential it had to cure the growing boredom of young girls and their baby dolls. Her name was Bild Lilli – but she was not for young girls.
Regardless, Handler saw its potential. She took the doll back to the United States and debuted it at the New York Toy Fair in 1959. Handler and her husband Elliot had already founded Mattel in 1945 alongside Harold Mattson, but it existed as a furniture making company before it pivoted into toys – and Barbie was their big breakthrough, named after their daughter.
In 1960, Mattel began releasing ‘career dolls’ that showcased Barbie in different fields of work, starting with Fashion Designer Barbie and later being followed by Pilot Barbie, Graduate Barbie, Astronaut Barbie, and CEO Barbie.
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