Barbie has been around for decades and is one of the most enduring toys ever created. Throughout the history of Barbie, there have been countless ups and downs as well as additions, changes, and updates to the doll and her multimedia influence.
Boyfriends, friends, houses, and all kinds of other accessories have made Barbie a little bit of everything. She’s a fashion icon, role model, point of contention, and, as of 2023, a bona fide movie star.
The sheer longevity of Barbie makes it difficult to comprehend just how much has gone into the Barbie franchise. Her origin story, emergence on the global scene, and continued pervasiveness are impressive – especially when you look at just how many milestones there have been over the years.
1939: Ruth And Elliot Handler Start Selling Plastic Goods
Born Isadore Elliot Handler in 1916, “Izzy” and his family moved from Illinois to Colorado when he was a boy. He later went by his middle name, Elliot, and took an interest in art and design from a young age.
While in high school, he met Ruth Marianna Mosko at a dance in 1932. The couple started dating, and after high school, Elliot went to art school in Denver. The Handlers married in 1938.
In 1939, the Handlers lived in an apartment in California, where Elliot made dollhouse furniture and costume jewelry in the garage, and Ruth sold his creations, largely made out of a mixture of lucite and other ingredients (namely plexiglass).
Ruth, Elliot, and businessman Zach Zemby formed Elzac of Hollywood two years later.
1941 And 1944: Ruth Handler Gives Birth To Her Two Children, Barbie And Ken’s Namesakes
During the Handlers’ first few years in California, Ruth worked at Paramount, a job that allowed Handler to pay for their apartment. Ruth kept the job at Paramount until she became pregnant in 1941 with the couple’s first child.
Ruth gave birth to their daughter, Barbara, in 1941. Their son, Ken, was born in 1944. The names of the Handler children would be those of the first Barbie and Ken dolls, respectively.
- 1945: Mattel Is Founded And Begins Making ToysElzac, established in 1941, was hindered by rations and the overall paucity of goods during WWII. The company adapted and continued to sell costume jewelry through 1944. It’s not entirely clear when Elzac folded, but in 1945, the Handlers and businessman Harold Matson founded another company. This one was called Mattel, a mashup of Elliot and Matson (Elzac was for “Elliot” and “Zach”). Mattel was incorporated in 1948.Ruth was in charge of business activities at Mattel and served as the company president. Both she and Elliot were co-chairpersons of Mattel’s board. Among the first toys made by Mattel were the Uke-A-Doodle and the Magic 8 Ball.
1956: Ruth Handler Sees Bild Lilli When Ruth Handler and her family went to Europe on vacation in 1956, she happened upon a doll called Bild Lilli. The German doll was based on a cartoon character of the same name. While Bild Lilli was not kid-friendly – she was described as “a golddigger, exhibitionist, and floozy” – Handler saw potential in the “sex doll.”She wanted to make a comparable doll but, according to the inventor, was told a “doll with breasts wasn’t exactly appropriate.” Undeterred, Handler felt it was important that young girls could dream about growing up – which would inevitably include growing breasts. Pushback from critics didn’t stop Handler, however. As her husband Elliot succinctly put it, “She thought they were wrong.”
Late 1950s: The First Barbie Prototypes Are Manufactured
Inspired by Bild Lilli, the Handlers designed a toy modeled on the risque German doll. The version the Handlers came up with was similar in most ways to Bild Lilli, so much so that the makers of Bild Lilli later sued Mattel. Mattel obtained exclusive rights to the doll in 1964.
After finding Bild Lilli, Ruth Handler reportedly told Mattel’s head of research and design Jack Ryan to find someone in Japan who “could make a doll of this size. We’ll sculpt our own face and body and design a line of clothes, but see if you can find a manufacturer.” Japanese manufacturers initially scoffed at the idea, but Ryan and his colleague, Frank Nakamura, tapped the company Kokusai Boeki for the job.
Finding the right type of plastic to use was a challenge, as was clearly explaining what Mattel wanted to the Japanese manufacturers. Among the changes that were made through trial and error were nipples which, in Ryan’s words, he “took my little fine Swiss file and very daintily filed” off.
While Barbie was literally developing in Japan, Ruth Handler hired fashion designer Charlotte Buettenback-Johnson to design the doll’s wardrobe
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March 9, 1959: Barbie Debuts
Looking to her own daughter, Barbara, for inspiration, Ruth Handler named her grown-up doll “Barbie.” She wrote in her autobiography:
[I settled on the name Barbie] fairly early in the design process… in honor of our daughter, of course, whose innocent play with adult paper dolls had inspired the idea… [As soon as Barbie went on the market, we received] hundreds of letters from little girls begging us to make a boyfriend for Barbie.
Barbara was less than appreciative, Ruth Handler wrote:
[She] was mortified, she got quite embarrassed by the whole thing.
Regardless, Barbie debuted at the 1959 American International Toy Fair in New York City. Barbie was 11 1/2 inches tall, featured blond or brown hair, wore a black and white swimsuit, and was, as one Mattel sales rep put it, “hated.” Mattel struggled to get buyers interested, and Ruth Handler was demoralized. According to her husband, Elliot, “She cried because… the doll was like a piece of art for her that held a piece of her heart.”
1960: Mattel Releases A Barbie Board Game
It didn’t take long for Mattel to put out a board game based on Barbie. Called “Barbie, Queen of the Prom,” the game featured players taking on Barbie’s role and moving around the board to collect money for a prom dress, gain popularity, and get a ring from her boyfriend. The first person to do all three won the game.
1961: Ken Is Introduced
Despite a relatively slow reception in 1959, some 300,000 Barbies sold that year and she became increasingly popular. Initially dubbed a “teenage fashion model,” Barbie offered an alternative to baby dolls. She represented entering the workforce as opposed to the norm of staying home and caring for a family.
After fans of the trendy doll wrote to Mattel founders Ruth and Elliot Handler, complaining that Barbie was single, they worked with designer Charlotte Buettenback-Johnson to create the perfect companion – Ken. Kenneth Sean Carson was created as a male counterpart to Barbie in 1961.
The first Ken stood half an inch taller than Barbie; had unbendable arms and a felt-flocked head that moved only from side to side; and sported red swimsuit trunks and cork sandals. Initially, Ruth Handler and Johnson wanted Ken to have full male privates, but the male executives at Mattel nixed the idea. Despite a compromise to have a “bulge” instead, that proved difficult to manufacture, so Ken was made with a smooth genital area. He cost $3.50.
Although Barbie and Ken dated, broke up (in 2004), got back together (2011), and continue to have a relationship, Barbie will (as was the wish of Ruth Handler) never get married.
1962: The First Barbie Dreamhouse Is Introduced
Barbie’s original Dreamhouse was released just three years after Barbie herself was born, and sold for the bargain price of $4.44. The home was incredibly simple by today’s Barbie standards. A ranch-style home built entirely from cardboard, it folded outward from a case.
The first Barbie Dreamhouse had a generic, dorm-like feel with plaid accents and state flags on the wall. The house came as well with midcentury furniture, which included a twin bed, sofa, TV set, lounge chair, and dresser.
Barbie also got her first car in 1962, an Austin-Healey.
1963 And 1964: Barbie And Ken Make Friends
The first Barbie doll was very glamorous, with sleek eyeliner and fashion-forward outfits, and critics claimed she was a sex symbol. This characterization understandably annoyed Mattel, so a few years later the company introduced Midge, Barbie’s best friend. Midge had a fuller face with freckles, which gave her a less sexualized look, and red hair, to counter Barbie’s famous blond hair.
Ken was similarly matched with a male pal. Allan Sherwood was designed and promoted as Ken’s best friend and Midge’s boyfriend in 1964. Both Allan and Midge were discontinued by the end of the 1960s, but they later returned (although Allan was called Alan) long enough to get married.
Midge and Alan had a son, Ryan, but Midge was again expecting in 2002. Pregnant Midge was supposed to be “a wonderful prop for parents to use with their children to role-play family situations – especially in families anticipating the arrival of a new sibling,” but was removed from the market due to complaints from parents.
1964: Barbie’s Sister, Skipper, Comes To Town
Barbie wasn’t an only child. In 1964, her younger sister Skipper made her first appearance. Skipper was shorter than Barbie and initially wore a red and white swimsuit.
Barbie had other siblings including twins Todd and Tutti (1965) and Stacie (not to be confused with Barbie’s friend Stacey)
2023: Barbie Hits The Big Screen
The Barbie movie starring Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, and others, and directed by Greta Gerwig, was released on July 21, 2023, to massive success. The movie earned $162 million during its first weekend and, as of August 6, 2023, had crossed the $1 billion threshold for global box-office ticket sales.
According to Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz, Mattel’s first foray into filmmaking was not about toy sales:
This is about creating quality content, creating an experience with societal impact that people would want to watch. We’ve been selling toys before we made movies, so we’re not dependent on that.”
Robbie Brenner, head of Mattel Films, explained that the movie was intended to be “bold,” just like Barbie has always been.
