Francie Fairchild made her debut in 1966 as Barbie’s fashionable younger cousin and quickly became one of the defining dolls of Mattel’s MOD era. Marketed as “Barbie’s MODern cousin,” Francie had an amazing wardrobe filled with bright colors, bold prints and geometric patterns inspired by the youthful fashions coming out of London’s Carnaby Street in the late 1960s.

At 11¼ inches tall, Francie was shorter and more slender than Barbie but taller than Barbie’s little sister, Skipper, giving her the look of a young teenager.

And here’s a fun bit of Barbie family-tree trivia: Barbie had an Uncle Claude Fairchild and Aunt Lily Fairchild, making Claude and Lily Francie’s parents! The names appeared in the March 1966 issue of Barbie Magazine.

Francie debuted in 1966 in both Straight Leg and Bendable Leg versions.

Above, the Straight Leg Francie (1966–1968), wore a red-and-white swimsuit and had painted eyelashes. The 1966 - 1967 Bendable Leg Francie (see left) came dressed in a colorful geometric-print swimsuit and featured rooted eyelashes.

In 1967, Twist ’N Turn Francie joined the lineup. For the first time, Francie could twist at the waist. She wore a striped one-piece swimsuit with pink bottoms.

These early Francies had very similar faces and were available with either blonde or brunette hair. In 1969, Francie received an updated short flip hairstyle, followed by another new look in 1971 with the No-Bangs Francie.

With the exception of the earliest Straight Leg dolls, Francies from this period generally featured the wonderful rooted eyelashes that collectors associate with the original Francie face.

By the mid-1960s, fashion and youth culture were changing dramatically, and Mattel wanted the Barbie line to change with them. Francie arrived in 1966 with a younger, slimmer figure, a flip hairstyle and a wardrobe that embraced the emerging MOD look.

Francie proved to be a hit, and in 1967 Barbie herself received a major makeover with the introduction of Twist ’N Turn Barbie and a much more youthful, MOD wardrobe.

Some collectors have also suggested that Francie may have been inspired by Gidget, whose full name was Frances Lawrence and who was sometimes called Francie. Whether or not there was a connection, Francie fit perfectly into the California-meets-Carnaby-Street youth culture of the era.

As Barbie entered the 1970s, Francie came along for the ride — and Mattel gave her some wonderfully gimmicky hair and play features.

Hair Happenin’s Francie

Hair Happenin’s Francie #1122 was produced from 1970 to 1972. This blonde Francie had a Twist ’N Turn waist, bendable knees, short hair with bangs and a blue ribbon headband.

But the real fun was her hair!

She came with four interchangeable blonde hairpieces:

• Mini Curls — a topknot with large curls
• Swingy Swirl — double flip curls on a headband with an orange ribbon
• Twisty Twirls — a braid with two banana curls and pink yarn bows
• Fluffy Whirl — short curls on a green ribbon headband

Hair Happenin’s Francie originally wore a blue dress trimmed in white crochet with aqua low-heel shoes. The 1970 dolls generally have straighter hair (see box below on right), while the 1971 and 1972 versions tend to have fluffier hair and paler lips (see box below on left).

Growin’ Pretty Hair Francie followed in 1971 and was produced through 1973. Like Barbie’s Growin’ Pretty Hair doll, Francie featured an adjustable ponytail that could be lengthened or shortened for different hairstyles.

Malibu Francie brought Francie to the beach beginning in 1971. She had  tanned skin, long blonde hair and blue eyes and, unlike the original Francie dolls, used the Casey head mold.

She remained in the Malibu lineup for several years and looks quite different from the sweet-faced Francies of the 1960s.

Produced in 1972–1973, Busy Francie featured special hands designed to grip and hold small accessories — part of Mattel’s early-1970s “Busy” line of dolls.

Quick Curl Francie arrived in 1973 with brunette hair containing tiny wires that allowed girls to curl and restyle it. She was produced into 1974 and reflected Mattel’s growing fascination with hair-play dolls during the early 1970s.

One of the most historically significant Francie dolls was the 1967 Black Francie.

Black Francie was the first dark-skinned doll released within the Barbie family of dolls. However, Mattel used the same Francie face sculpt used for the white Francie rather than creating a sculpt with African American features.

In 1968, Mattel introduced Christie (see below), Barbie’s friend and one of the first Black characters in the Barbie world to be presented with her own identity and character.

Original Black Francie dolls are highly prized by collectors today and go for thousands of dollars!

Francie didn’t navigate the MOD era alone! Mattel created several Francie-sized friends who could share her fabulous wardrobe.

She was introduced in 1967 as “Francie’s Fun Friend,” and was the same 11¼-inch size as Francie and featured bendable legs, a Twist ’N Turn waist and rooted eyelashes. Available as a blonde or brunette, Casey had a short MOD bob, a metallic gold-and-white swimsuit and — my favorite detail — a single dangling earring! The original Casey was produced through 1970 before returning briefly as Baggie Casey (see above) in 1975. Interestingly, while the original Casey had her own face sculpt, Baggie Casey used the original Francie face.

Twiggy joined the gang in late 1967 and was based on the famous British supermodel whose pixie haircut, dramatic eye makeup and thin silhouette epitomized Swinging London. The Francie-sized Twiggy used the Casey face sculpt but had much heavier eye makeup to recreate the model’s signature look. She came dressed in a wonderfully MOD yellow, blue and green striped mini dress with yellow boots and even had her own line of exclusive fashions. Twiggy is especially significant in Barbie history as Mattel’s first doll based on a real person.

And then there was Becky — the Francie friend who almost was! Becky was planned for 1971 and even appeared in Mattel catalogs, but the original doll never made it into production. Mattel got far enough along that some Francie fashions were actually sold in packages marked for “Francie and her new friend Becky.” Nearly four decades later, collectors finally got the doll when Mattel released Most Mod Party Becky in 2009, inspired by the never-produced vintage character.

Together, Francie, Casey, Twiggy and the elusive Becky perfectly captured Mattel’s late-1960s MOD era — short skirts, bold colors, fabulous hair and all!

Francie wasn’t only popular in the United States. Mattel also produced some fascinating variations for international markets — and several are among the most desirable Francie dolls ever made.

A German Francie was produced in 1972 using a different head mold but the same general body type as the American Francie. The blonde-haired, blue-eyed doll was sold only in Germany and was produced in both a standard version and a Busy variation.

Francie was hugely popular in Japan, where Mattel offered exclusive dolls and fashions. Today, Japanese Francies and their clothing are among the most sought-after items for serious Francie collectors.

On the left is Japanese Francie. There is also Japanese Sun Sun Malibu Francie (see below). Both are incredibly rare.

Unlike the American Malibu Francie, which used the Casey head mold and had blonde hair and painted lashes, Japanese Sun Sun Malibu Francie used the original Francie face, complete with rooted eyelashes. She had a deep suntan and long brunette, side-parted hair.

Because Japanese Francies were produced in limited quantities, some examples can command thousands of dollars today.

Vintage Francie eventually became such a collector favorite that Mattel brought her back several times.

In 1996, Mattel released a brunette 1967 Bendable Leg Francie reproduction wearing a  swimsuit and the Gad-Abouts fashion.

In 1997, Mattel reproduced Black Francie in a limited edition of 5,000 dolls wearing The Wild Bunch.

Another reproduction of Black Francie was made in 2002 (see both below). And in 2005, a blonde No-Bangs Francie reproduction was released wearing a reproduction of the fabulous Smashin’ Satin fashion.

Francie later returned again in 2012 (proving that Barbie’s MODern cousin still had plenty of fans decades after her original debut) as a gorgeous Silkstone doll, named Kitty Corner Francie (see below).

Francie arrived at exactly the right moment. Fashion was becoming younger, brighter and more daring, and the Barbie world was about to undergo one of the biggest transformations in its history.

From the sweet flip-haired Francies of 1966 to Black Francie, Hair Happenin’s Francie, Malibu Francie, Quick Curl Francie and the incredibly rare Japanese dolls, Francie changed right along with the times.

And those fashions! Francie had some of the best MOD clothing Mattel ever produced. No wonder collectors still love her nearly 60 years later.

Which Francie is your favorite? Are you an early Bendable Leg Francie fan, a Hair Happenin’s girl, a Malibu lover — or are you dreaming of finding one of those elusive Japanese Francies?

Would love to hear from you, dolls!

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