MOTHER OF ALL BARBIES

The woman behind the iconic doll wanted little girls to dream big and know that they could be anything they wanted to be

- KESHIA AFRICA

IT WILL never work, she was told. No mother would buy their kid a doll with breasts and a waist and it would be too complicated and costly to make a toy like this anyway.

But wow, have the naysayers ever had to eat their words.

Barbie isn't just a doll, it's a global phenomenon - an instantly recognisable brand found on backpacks, stationery, pool floats, scrunchies, rugs, bed linen, bikes, scooters, sneakers and every conceivable item of clothing from undies to hoodies.

Toy manufacturer Mattel made a record $1,7 billion (then about R24,8bn) in annual sales in 2021 alone thanks to Barbie and her treasure trove of spinoffs and that was before the hype around the Barbie movie began and the world went wild about her all over again.

The film, which was expected to make $100 million (R1,8bn) in its opening weekend, has been praised by critics for its quirkiness and humour, but also for challenging gender stereotypes.

And no one could be prouder of that fact than Barbara Handler Segal whose mom, Ruth Handler, was the brains behind the little piece of plastic perfection.

She invented Barbie in 1959 and became the co-founder and first president of Mattel.

Ruth, who died of colon cancer in 2002 at the age of 85, was inspired by her daughter to create Barbie, insisting that "little girls want to play at being big girls".

Her vision was to create a teeny-tiny mannequin that'd be easy for children to dress up- and Barbie, who turns 65 next year, has evolved from a fashion model to a career woman with more than 250 professions, including a nurse, a ballerina, an army medic, an astronaut, a palaeontologist, dentist, florist, yoga teacher and president of the United States.

She's also grown in diversity over the decades to have different skin tones, hair textures, body sizes and disabilities.