Five facts about Barbie through the ages
Barbie has come a long way since the doll first went on sale at the American Toy Fair in New York City, on 9 March 1959.

Here are five facts about the iconic, bestselling doll…
CAREER GAL
Barbie has had over 150 jobs in her professional career, including scuba diver, palaeontologist and news anchor. Her first job was as a teenage fashion model.
LOVE AND MARRIAGE
Barbie and Ken first got together in 1961 and, despite numerous wedding editions of both dolls, they’ve never actually gone through with the ceremony. The plastic duo famously split between 2004 and 2011, during which time Barbie had a two-year fling with an Australian surfer named Blaine.
DIVERSITY MATTERS
The first black Barbie appeared in 1967, with the arrival of ‘Colored Francie’, however, as the manufacturers had used the same mold as for Barbie, the doll lacked African-American features. In the 2015 Fashionista range, Mattel’s dolls came in eight different skin tones, with 14 different facial molds, 18 eye colours and 23 hair colours.
BAD BOOKS
One of Mattel’s most controversial dolls was the 1965 Slumber Party Barbie. It came with a diet book for the toy entitled 'How To Lose Weight' – the only advice it contained was: ‘Don’t Eat’. She also came with a scale set to 110lbs, or 7st 9lbs. At an estimated 5’ 9”, that makes Barbie 2st 12lbs underweight.
PRESIDENT BARBIE
In 1992, Presidential Candidate Barbie became the first woman to run for office. She’s since run a further five times.
By entering your details, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions and privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.