Profile of the Day: Ruth Handler

Ruth Handler

Did you have any Barbie dolls growing up? On this day in 1959, the first Barbie doll made its debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York.

The famous doll was created by Ruth Handler, who co-founded Mattel, Inc with her husband in 1945. After watching her daughter, Barbara, play with her paper dolls, Handler noticed that her daughter would pretend that her paper dolls were adults. Realizing a gap in the market, Handler envisioned a plastic, adult-figured doll with clothing made of real fabric that allowed little girls to imagine the future.

The first Barbie doll was based on a German toy called Bold Lilli. Handler would named her doll “Barbie” after her daughter Barbara. After making its public debut, Barbie dolls became one of the first toys to be heavily marketed on television. Today, the doll has become a cultural icon with an estimate of over 1 billion Barbie dolls sold worldwide in over 150 countries.

Explore Ruth Handler’s family tree on Geni and see how you’re related to the woman behind the creation of Barbie!
 

View Ruth Handler’s Geni Profile

Image: Wikimedia Commons