Barbie

Barbie is a fashion doll created by American businesswoman Ruth Handler and manufactured by the toy company Mattel, Inc. Launched in March 1959, the doll was inspired by the German Bild Lilli doll and was designed to allow girls to imagine their futures as adult women. The first Barbie doll wore a black-and-white zebra-striped swimsuit and was available as either a blonde or brunette.

Over the decades, Barbie has become a global cultural icon, expanding far beyond the original doll into a vast multimedia franchise. The brand encompasses countless doll lines representing diverse careers, ethnicities, and body types, as well as animated films, television series, web series, video games, and a massive range of licensed merchandise. Barbie's fictional universe includes an extensive cast of family members, friends, and pets, most notably her longtime companion Ken.

Barbie has been both celebrated as a symbol of female empowerment and career aspiration and criticized for promoting unrealistic body standards and consumerism. Mattel has continually evolved the brand in response to cultural shifts, introducing dolls with more varied and realistic proportions, as well as dolls honoring inspirational real-world women. The character's enduring popularity has made Barbie one of the most recognizable and best-selling toy brands in history.