Who Invented Barbie Dolls?

Ruth Handler invented the Barbie doll in the mid-1950s. Handler got the idea when she saw how her daughter and her daughter's friends liked playing with adult dolls instead of baby dolls. Handler believed it was important for girls to imagine what they could grow up to be and wanted the Barbie doll to help with that dream. Handler believed the Barbie doll should be a "small scale, anatomically improbable, molded-plastic figure of a human being."

Creating a Toy Company

Ruth Handler and her husband Elliot helped found the Mattel Company in 1938. Harold Matson was the third partner of the company that originally made only picture frames.

Turning to Toys

In 1946, Ruth and Elliot Handler bought Matson's share of the Mattel Company. Elliot began to make doll house furniture from the leftover pieces of scrap wood that were used to make picture frames.

Lilli Doll

Ruth Handler brought home a Lilli doll from a vacation in Switzerland in the 1950s. Handler used the Lilli doll as a model for the doll she wanted to create for American children.

The First Barbie Doll

Handler received a patent for the Barbie doll in 1958. The first Barbie doll, named after the Handlers' daughter Barbara, was sold at the American Toy Fair in New York City in 1959. The first Barbie doll had a ponytail hairstyle, and wore a black-and-white swimsuit and sunglasses.

Barbie Style

Ruth Handler, who died in 2002, wanted the Barbie doll to reflect American society and trends. Handler hired Charlotte Johnson in the late 1950s to be the first fashion designer to design clothes for Barbie dolls.