Author's collection, l to r: 1968 Talking Barbie, 1969 Twist 'n Turn Marlo Flip Barbie (blonde), 1967 Twist 'n Turn Barbie, 1970 Dramatic New Living Barbie, 1971 Growin' Pretty Hair Barbie and 1969 Twist 'n Turn Marlo Flip Barbie (brunette)
- Barbie® doll’s official birthday is March 9, 1959 – the exact date she was unveiled to the toy industry during New York Toy Fair
- Barbie's hometown is fictional, Willows, Wisconsin. (I love this fact because I'm also from Wisconsin!)
- Barbie, over time, had seven siblings but during the vintage and Mod years, it was just younger sisters, Skipper and Tutti, and baby brother Todd (twin of Tutti's). Tutti disappeared in 1971 and Stacie (also Todd's twin) was introduced in 1992. Was Stacie just Tutti reincarnated?! And, we can't forget Barbie's MODern cousin, Francie Fairchild! She also vanished into thin air in 1976.
- Barbie digs younger men. Ken was introduced in 1961 making him two years younger than her. #YouGoGirl
- Only her friends call her Barbie. Her given name is Barbara Millicent Roberts. Mattel founder, Ruth Handler, named Barbie after her own daughter, Barbara (and Ken was named after her son).
- Designers love to dress Barbie! Over the years, she's worn fashions from Gucci, Christian Dior, Aiorgio Armani, Bob Mackie, Vera Wang, Robert Best, Carolina Herrera, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Givenchy, Oscar de la Renta and more. Here's a great article about the evolution of Barbie's fashions including commentary from Carol Spencer, Barbie's longest-serving stylist (1963 - 1999).
- Barbie officially has her own color! Her trademark color is a vibrant pink; Pantone's Barbie Pink 219C.
- Barbie is a workaholic. Starting as a teen model, she's had 250 careers over the years - from astronaut to zoologist. Ken, by comparison, had around 40 careers. I don't think "Beach" should be considered a job though, lol.
- The first Black Barbie was in 1980. Her box read, “She's Black! She's beautiful! She's dynamite!” She was specifically a Black Barbie, unlike the other Black dolls from Mattel that either had a different name or the same design as Barbie just with a darker skin tone.
- The top-selling Barbie of all time was 1992's Totally Hair Barbie. I actually had really big hair that same year, haha! Ten million Totally Hair Barbies were sold around the world.
- Every year since 2011, Barbie® doll has introduced a career that has been under represented by women – some of those careers include computer engineer, architect, entrepreneur and film director
- Today, a mint condition “#1” (1959 Barbie doll) can fetch as much as $27,450 at auction, as was the case with an extremely rare #1 blonde doll in a May 2006 auction held by Sandi’s Doll Attic.
- It takes a professional staff of top fashion designers, makeup artists and the most elite couturiers – more than 100 people in all – to create a Barbie doll and her fashions
- @BarbieStyle launched in 2014 and quickly reached 1.2 million followers – it is one of the fastest growing fashion Instagram channels to date
- Barbie has never got married or had children. It was a very deliberate choice by Ruth Handler. She didn't want to reinforce the idea that young girls should aspire only to marriage and motherhood. A very progressive view for 1959. #GirlPower
- Fifty of the world’s top designers created couture looks for the first-ever Barbie runway show in celebration of Barbie dolls 50th birthday
- Barbie is the most popular fashion doll ever produced, and the brand continues to dominate sales in the fashion doll segment with gross sales in 2014 of $1.01 billion worldwide
- Barbie is sold in 150 countries.
- Since her launch in 1959, over a billion dolls have been sold. Over 100 dolls are sold per minute and a Barbie Dreamhouse is sold every two minutes.
- The Barbie Movie shattered multiple box office records and surpassed $1.4 billion in ticket sales! This makes Greta Gerwig the first woman in history to reach this box office as a solo director. It has instantly become the biggest debut ever for a film directed by a woman. I have to admit, I went to the theatre six times to watch the movie and also bought it on Apple+. #obsessed
Source: Barbie Media
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