Barbie was created by Ruth Handler of Mattel who was the principal architect of the doll's campaign. Handler was inspired by watching her daughter play with paper dolls that resembled adult women.

Barbie is in her mid-60s & still going strong, but she's not an antique yet. Pull back the pink curtain & discover the history of a cultural touchstone.

I made a 2-year-old cry. I put her cheese stick in her little hand and quickly put the plastic wrapper in the wastebasket under the kitchen sink. The pipsqueak, my great-niece, Lily, began to sob ...

Created in 1959 by Ruth Handler, co-founder of Mattel with her husband Elliot Handler, Barbie was inspired by “watching their daughter play with make-believe paper dolls of adult women”.