Barbie

Barbie, an 11-inch- (29-cm-) tall plastic 

doll with the figure of an adult woman

that was introduced on March 9, 1959,

by Mattel, Inc., a southern California toy 

company. Ruth Handler, who cofounded

Mattel with her husband, Elliot, spearheaded the introduction of the doll. Barbie’s physical appearance was modeled on the German Bild Lilli doll, a risqué doll based upon a cartoon character featured in the West German newspaper Bild Zeitung. The doll is named after Ruth's daughter Barbara Millicent. Ruth had wanted her daughter and other little girls to have a toy that showed them there were more options in life than mother, wife or housekeeper.