The film opens this Thursday.
10 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT BARBIE
- The first Barbie doll was introduced in both blonde and brunette on March 9, 1959.
2. Barbie full name: Barbara Millicent “Barbie” Roberts. It was created by the American businesswoman Ruth Handler. Her inspiration was a German doll called Bild Lilli.
3. Ruth Handler watched her daughter Barbara play with paper dolls and she noted that she often enjoyed giving them adult roles. At that time, most children’s toy dolls were representations of babies. Realizing there might be a gap in the market, Handler suggested the idea of a doll with an adult body to her husband Elliot, co-founder of the toy company Mattel, who disagreed.
4. Barbie doll sales dropped dramatically from 2014 to 2016. In 2020, Mattel sold $1.35 billion worth of Barbie dolls and accessories, its biggest sales growth in two decades.
5. The first Barbie dolls were made in Japan, with clothes sewn by hand by Japanese workers in their homes. Around 350,000 Barbie dolls were sold during the first year of production.
6. Barbie has become a cultural icon and has received honors that are rare in the world of toys. In 1974, a section of Times Square in New York City was renamed Barbie Boulevard for one week.
7. In 1986, Andy Warhol created a painting of Barbie. The painting sold at auction at Christie’s, London, for $1.1 million. In 2015, the Andy Warhol Foundation partnered with Mattel to create an Andy Warhol Barbie.
8. In 2009, Barbie celebrated her 50th birthday. The celebrations included a show in New York for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.
9. In February 2022, Mattel celebrated its 60th anniversary of Barbie by partnering with Habitat for Humanity International.
10. Mattel has responded to criticism of a lack of diversity in the line. Starting in 1980, it produced Hispanic dolls, and then models from all over the world arrived. For example, in 2007, he introduced “Cinco de Mayo Barbie” wearing a red, white, and green dress like the Mexican flag.
