At 19, she moved to Los Angeles and married her high school sweetheart, Elliot Handler, an artistic young man. When she was 19, she moved to Los Angeles and married her high school boyfriend, Elliot Handler, an artistic young man.Emerging in her hourglass like figure, on high heels and a strapless monochrome striped swimsuit, over the course of time, Barbie has sported a variety of body shapes, skin tones, hairstyles and even eye colours. Barbie represents a heady dash of both beauty and brains. A happy and smiling Barbie emerged in 1976 with big wide eyes and long lashes, having done away with those stern heavy lids she flaunted in the 60s.Dipa KarmakarBarbie transcended ethnic and colour barriers too, to make the non-white people identify with her. Years later, Barbie was born — a doll made to give a purpose of life to young girls. P. Barbie not only stole away the imagination of young girls but also their mothers who dreamt of seeing their daughters grow up to be attractive and successful professionals like Barbie. There’s more to her that’s set to inspire.In May this year, when famed Indian-Hollywood cine star Deepika Padukone emerged at the MET Gala 2019 event at the Museum of Arts in the US, she mesmerised the world in her Barbie avatar — pompously attired in Zac Posen’s pink coloured strapless metallic lurex jacquard gown embellished with 3D printed embroidered pieces. On weekends, Elliot would make toy furniture for Ruth to sell.While Barbie enticed onlookers with her beauty, she also carried the vision of her creator in her stride. .Barbie, though, is not all looks nor a party partner alone.Down the agesBorn in 1959, when Barbie began toddling up to the American shelves in the 60s, she became an instant hit with look-a-likes of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, the First Lady of the United States.American movie star Paris Hilton got herself a $200,000 priced GT Bentley Continental car and splashed pink paint on its exterior and the wheels to make her dream car look much like Barbie’s.Ruth’s doll started her life with her real name — Barbara Millicent ‘Barbie’ Roberts — in the books on her life published by Random House, which, in no time contracted to the world famous nickname ‘Barbie’.  

Teenage girls clamoured to have one in their laps and parents did not mind pampering their little ones with the doll. For instance, by becoming an astronaut four years before Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon in 1969. Spurring both criticism and copycats since making her debut in 1959, Barbie has remained in the spotlight through seasons of change and popularity, and easily remains one of the most recognisable brand names in the world, writes Kaushik Bhowmik. Barbie has since then only continued to evolve.Bringing a purpose to lifeIn fact, was a plaything ever designed to influence people? Way back in the 50s, a meagerly earning American stenographer named Ruth Handler, while watching her daughter play with dolls, thought of one. While the storefronts showcased blonde and brunette Barbies, in 1980, the first African-American version was introduced.During World War II, the Handlers started a company, Mattel, in their small backyard garage, combining Elliot’s name with the last name of their partner, Harold Matson.

While most know Barbie as a global phenomenon and a multi-million dollar business for the Mattel toy company, a lesser known fact is that the iconic doll, which turned 60 this year, was the brainchild of Ruth Marianna Mosko, the youngest of ten siblings born in 1916 in Denver, Colorado into a family of Polish-Jewish immigrants. In the 90s and 2000s, Barbie got even more stylish with her pink lips.Stefano Canturi BarbieAt the time when Ruth designed this iconic fashion toy, she was probably confident that little girls would imagine themselves to be all round professionals like Barbie when they grew up. However, Matson sold off his shares and the Handlers took full control of Mattel.Rachel Evans BarbieIn the last six decades since her launch, Barbie has exuded dynamism — changing looks and professions from time to time, and sending out a clear signal to girls to exercise their freedom in shaping their lives and do anything that they wish to. She has also traversed some 200 different career profiles, spanning from astronaut to entrepreneur to UNICEF volunteer. Not only did they jointly set up the Mattel company during World War II, but the visionary Ruth also designed Barbie to be a role model for her daughter and other young girls.

She even motivated people with handicaps and helped to fight the stigma around physical disabilities, when recently, she appeared in her prosthetic limbs and on-wheelchair avatar. Her actor hubby Ranveer Singh went gaga over his wife, showered endearments on her Instagram pictures and urged her, “Come on Barbie, let’s go party”, picking up the line from the popular 1997 track Barbie Girl by Aqua. Ruth, born in 1916 in Denver, Colorado into a family of Polish-Jewish immigrants, was the youngest of 10 siblings. Like small girls her age, Barbie attended the Willows High School which, weft feeder for sale with the change of the book’s publisher, converted to Manhattan International High School in New York City.Through the 70s and 80s, Barbie displayed a plump look with chubby face.Beginnings of BarbieBarbie was the brainchild of Ruth Marianna Mosko, and went on to become a phenomenon and a multibillion-dollar business.By the mid-1940s, the young company was raking in revenues to the tune of $ 2 million. Borrowing additional money from A.And Ruth’s doll ably kept up to their aspirations. In the book, Barbie was the elder of her three siblings — sister Skipper and twins Tutti and Todd — and lived with George (engineer father) and Margaret (housewife mother) in the fictional town of Willows in Wisconsin, US.