Barbie: Her Inspiration, History, and Legacy

Take an enthralling and richly illustrated trip through the official real-world story of the Barbie™ doll—from groundbreaking toy to beacon of female empowerment.

Created in partnership with Mattel to celebrate Barbie doll’s 65th anniversary and featuring rare images from their archives, Barbie: Her Inspiration, History, and Legacy is a stunning tribute to the beloved pop culture icon that has echoed the taste, style, and events of every decade she has experienced.

Recall the joy of opening a brand-new Barbie box with this sumptuously designed book chronicling every step in the beloved doll’s journey, from entrepreneurial pioneer Ruth Handler’s creation of Barbie in 1959 to the record-breaking film in 2023, and beyond, including:

The Birth of Barbie – Learn how Ruth Handler came up with the idea of a doll that allowed little girls to play at being women, then overcame a parade of challenges—including disbelief from her male colleagues that mothers would buy their daughters an adult doll with full-grown breasts—and persevered to create the wildly successful Barbie doll and prove her doubters wrong. Breaking Boundaries – Follow the path that Barbie took from teenage fashion model to over 200 different careers, including trailblazing roles like astronaut in 1965, beating the first American woman, Sally Ride, into space by nearly 20 years, to surgeon in 1973, at a time when the total number of women physicians in the US was around 5 percent, to other male-dominated roles like Marine Corps sergeant, a business executive, and President of the United States. Reflecting Diversity – See how a doll that started with a choice of either blonde or brunette hair now boasts 35 skin tones, 97 hair styles, and 9 body types, with those numbers growing each year. Barbie in Fashion and Art – Explore how the fashion and art worlds have influenced and been influenced by Barbie, from limited edition Barbie fashions from premiere designers like Christian Dior and Michael Kors to a portrait of Barbie by Andy Warhol. Barbie in Pop Culture – Discover all the ways that Barbie has influenced pop culture, from Barbie bloggers and collectors to how her movie smashed records as the highest-grossing domestic release in history, granting its female director, Greta Gerwig, the prize for the highest-grossing film directed by a woman.

Barbie: Her Inspiration, History, and Legacy reveals how Barbie is more than a toy—she is an ideal that lives forever, encouraging girls to persist through to become whatever they dream to be.