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Barbie is the star of the summer's hottest blockbuster. The much-hyped movie is the pinnacle of a 60-year history filled with rejections, lawsuits, and controversies for the world's most iconic doll.
Barbie is the star of the summer's hottest blockbuster. The much-hyped movie is the pinnacle of a 60-year history filled with rejections, lawsuits, and controversies for the world's most iconic doll.
Grace DeanJul 21, 2023, 18:42 IST
Mattel Inc.; Chelsea Jia Feng/Insider
When Barbie first went on sale in 1959, she was nothing like the other dolls filling the aisles of toy stores.
Industry buyers were initially skeptical of Barbie — especially her breasts and overt femininity.
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Ruth Handler wanted to make an adult fashion doll but Mattel's team shot her down
Chesnot/Getty Images
Inspiration came from a German doll with breasts and 'long, tapered legs'
SSPL/Getty Images
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Barbie was made less 'curvaceous' but still looked a lot like Lilli
Frederic Neema/Sygma via Getty Images, Chesnot/Getty Images
Buyers didn't care about Barbie
The first Barbie, who came out in 1959.Frederic Neema/Sygma via Getty Images
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Sales started to climb and parents didn't object as much as buyers expected
Fiona Hanson/PA Images via Getty Images
Designing Ken led to an argument over how prominent to make his crotch
A young boy looks confused while a young girl inspects Ken dolls in 1961.Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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Barbie became 'prettier and prettier' as the years went by
Opposable limbs and different hairstyles were among the innovations in Barbie's early years.Chesnot/Getty Images
Barbie's focus for the last decade has been diversity
Mattel has tried to diversify Barbie so that children can play with dolls that look like themselves and that better represent society.Mattel
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Greta Gerwig has brought Barbie back in style
Ryan Gosling as Ken and Margot Robbie as Barbie in Greta Gerwig's "Barbie."Warner Bros.