Mattel, Inc. Barbie, in full Barbara Millicent Roberts, an 11-inch- (29-cm-) tall plastic doll with the figure of an adult woman that was introduced on March 9, 1959, by Mattel, Inc., a southern California toy company.

Barbie is the most popular fashion doll ever produced and the No. 1 fashion doll property. A Barbie Dreamhouse is sold every two minutes and was first introduced in 1962. Barbie is the most diverse fashion doll on the market. More than 100 dolls are sold every minute.

Price of the most expensive Barbies ever sold worldwide as of July 2023 (in U.S. dollars)

The most expensive Barbie ever sold: Stefano Canturi Barbie Created by Australian jewelry designer Stefano Canturi, this one-of-a-kind Barbie sold at auction house Christie's in 2010 for $302,500, and the proceeds went to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, making this a surprisingly feel-good story.

Mattel. Mattel, which is responsible for a number of toy brands, including Barbie, Hot Wheels, and Fisher-Price, is one of the world's largest toy companies.

The doll's original design was based on a German doll named Lilli, which was originally marketed as a raunchy gag gift for adult men. Mattel bought the rights to Lilli, and Handler renamed it "Barbie" after her daughter, Barbara.

Over the years, Barbie dolls have developed to comprise a complex – but more stable – chemical cocktail comprising ethylene vinyl acetate arms, acyrylonitrile butadiene styrene torsos, heads of a hard vinyl compound, and outer legs in PVC, although using a different formula from the earlier dolls.

The first Barbie doll debuted at the New York toy fair in March 1959. And thanks to a revolutionary TV ad, Barbie became a household name. Handler sold 300,000 dolls in that first year, and the success only continued from there.

The best picks for the dolls themselves are the movie tie-in Barbie (as she's perfect as both a collector's item as well as a toy for children who have seen and loved the Barbie movie), the Totally Hair Barbie with her host of accessories and the gimmick of being able to style her long hair, and the Made To Move ...

Whilst Barbie is not based on a real person, she is named after Handler's daughter, Barbara, with the doll's full name being Barbara Millicent Roberts. The inspiration behind the doll makes a quick cameo in the Barbie movie, starring alongside Robbie in a sentimental nod to her mother's creation.

Mattel shut down its last U.S. factory - in Murray, Ky. - in 2001. Barbie, Hot Wheels and other Mattel toys are now made in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico and Thailand. It's a familiar narrative.

Over the years, Barbie dolls have developed to comprise a complex – but more stable – chemical cocktail comprising ethylene vinyl acetate arms, acyrylonitrile butadiene styrene torsos, heads of a hard vinyl compound, and outer legs in PVC, although using a different formula from the earlier dolls.

In 1945, Handler wanted her daughter Barbara to have action figures like her brother Ken, so she created her own. The first Barbie doll debuted at the New York toy fair in March 1959. And thanks to a revolutionary TV ad, Barbie became a household name.

Barbie's first job was as a fashion model. Since then the doll has had more than 250 careers. And true to Ruth Handler's desire to inspire young girls, Barbie has often been way ahead of her times. In 1965, some 13 years before women were admitted to the astronaut corps at NASA, Mattel introduced an astronaut Barbie.

The "Totally Hair Barbie" from 1992 featured the longest tresses ever and still stands as the best-selling Barbie doll to date - but even if you weren't born that year, maybe you were lucky enough to have a birth year that honored one of Barbie's other major milestones or most legendary looks.

Barbie Barbie: The world's most famous plastic doll.