Barbie's official birthday represents her first public exhibition at the March 9th 1959 American International Toy Fair in New York. Here is the FIRST Barbie Commercial + read below for 61 trivia and facts about one of our FAVORITE dolls and a roundup of FIVE our favorite VDC presentations about Barbie on YouTube.
The Virtual Doll Convention is excited to announce attendance at the upcoming BarbieCon 2020 in Las Vegas! We will be bringing our virtual cameras with us for all of the fun!
Photo via NYTIMES
Her full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts.
She was based on Barbara Handler, her creator's daughter.
Barbie's "mom" Ruth Handler, also created prosthetics for breast cancer patients.
Barbie bendable legs have been used to help create prosthetic fingers for those who have lost theirs.
Since her debut in 1959, Barbie has had over 200 careers.
Barbie has been on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
There is a Girl Scouts Barbie.
Over one billion Barbies have been sold worldwide in 150 countries.
Her parent company, Mattel, claims three Barbie dolls are sold every second.
Barbie's parents are named George and Margaret Rawlins Roberts.
Siblings and cousins are Kelly, Shelly, Chelsea, Kristine, Anastasia, and Skipper; and twins named Tutti and Todd.
Todd is apparently her only brother.
Barbie was officially born on March 9, 1959, in the fictional town of Willows, Wisconsin.
Her longtime boyfriend Ken is two years younger than Barbie, debuting in toy stores in 1961.
She has been to space three times.
Barbie plays a role in Toy Story Films.
Barbie has appeared in TV programs like 30 Something, Frasier, and 2 Broke Girls.
She has run for president six times.
19. In 1987, Barbie went tech; her media franchise projects include animated films, television specials, video games, computer software, and music.
20. Jack Ryan, once married to Zsa Zsa Gabor, helped Ruth Handler redesign Barbie.
21. Barbie was based on a German doll and cartoon character named Lilli by the Bild Company.
22. Lilli/Barbie knockoffs made in Asia are sometimes called Hong Kong Lilli.
23. Barbie has owned more than 40 pets, including 21 dogs, 14 horses, three ponies, six cats, a parrot, a chimpanzee, a panda, a lion cub, a giraffe, and a zebra.
24. Barbie has been a fairy, angel, and mermaid.
Charlotte Johnson, the 1st designer who created Barbie's wardrobe & helped inspire girls to play dress-up! Via Mattel
25. Barbie has sung in Rock Bands.
26. Barbie has performed in The Nutcracker.
27. The first Barbie debuted during March 9, 1959, Toy Fair.
28. The first Barbies were made in Japan.
29. Early Barbies' clothes were hand-stitched by Japanese women working from home.
30. Barbie's first clothing designer was Charlotte Johnson.
31. In 1971, Barbie's eyes were redesigned; they now looked forward and do not glance sideways.
32. Barbie has been involved in several lawsuits over the last 61 years.
33. Barbie's history appears in textbooks on intellectual property.
34. Barbie was one of the first dolls/toys whose marketing strategy involved frequent use of television commercials.
35. Singer Aqua had a hit song, "Barbie Girl," in 1997.
36. Marge Piercy wrote a poem inspired by her called "Barbie Doll."
37. Some women have had surgery to look like Barbie.
38. Gucci, Versace, Vera Wang, Dolce & Gabbana, and Givenchy have all contributed designs to Barbie's wardrobe.
39. Scholar Erica Rand wrote a book called Barbie's Gay Accessory.
40. Barbie Nation is a documentary made about Barbie.
41. Students have written theses and dissertations on Barbie as part of their graduate school studies.
42. Part of Times Square was renamed Barbie Boulevard in 1974.
43. In 2013, Barbie Café opened in Taiwan.
44. Andy Warhol did a Barbie painting.
45. There is also an Andy Warhol Barbie.
46. The Louvre held a Barbie Exhibit in 2016.
47. Photographer David Levinthal did a Barbie Exhibit at the San Jose Museum of Art during the late 80s.
United States Patent and Trademark Office
48. She was created by a man who used to work at the pentagon. Jack Ryan began his career as an engineer, making missiles for the Pentagon, but was eventually hired away by Mattel for his "space-age savvy" and knowledge of materials (meaning, he'd be able to make high-quality, well-functioning toys). His designs helped give Barbie her twistable waist and "click click" knee joints. (via Mental Floss)
49. More than one billion pairs of shoes have been made for Barbie.
50. Ken's last name is Carson.
51. Barbie's miniature bathroom scale is permanently set at 110 lbs.
52. Mattel claims there are over 100,000 avid Barbie collectors worldwide.
53. 45% of Barbie collectors spend over $1000.00 per year on their dolls.
Totally Hair Barbie, 1992. Via Dollytopia
54. At age 57, Barbie made the cover of Time because she now had three new body types, petite, tall, and curvy.
55. Mattel has trademarked Barbie's signature pink color.
56. The best-selling Barbie ever was "Totally Hair" barbie.
57. Twist N Turn Barbie appeared in 1967.
58. The first black Barbie debuted in 1980.
59. The first talking Barbies appeared between 1968-71.
60. In 2015, Hello Barbie used Artificial Intelligence to talk with her pals.
61. March 9 is National Barbie Day.
VDC Barbie Video Roundup! Enjoy Rachel’s “Barbie Broadcast” from this morning plus some of our favorite videos about Barbie with Bradley Justice Yarbrough.
This blog was written by VDC Contributor Ellen Tsagaris. Ellen Tsagaris is the owner of The American Doll & Toy Museum, a life long passion that is now a reality. She is the author of several books and hundreds of articles on dolls and toys, including the first book on metal dolls, With Love from Tin Lizzie, A History of Metal Dolls, and A Bibliography of Dolls and Toys, and the forthcoming Thinking Outside the Doll House, A Memoir. She was born in Europe, and she and her family have traveled to every continent but Antarctica. She has collected dolls since age three and has been researching them since age seven. She also dabbles in making dolls and paper dolls.
Ellen lives in the Midwest and has studied in Madrid, Spain, with degrees in Spanish and English from Augustana College, a law degree and Masters from The University of Iowa, and a PhD in Modern British Literature from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.
Besides dolls, she writes about law, criminal justice, home security, literature, senior care, and history. She is also an avid blogger and active in social media. Her other interests include miniatures, antique china, women’s’ history, stamps, coins, jewelry, needlework, sports, piano music, fossils, and thimbles.
