The inspiration for Barbie came from an observation Ruth Handler made while watching her daughter, Barbara, play with paper ...

(Named after the Mattel founders’ daughter, Barbara Handler; their son, of course, is named Ken.) According to brand lore, Barbie was officially born on March 9, 1959, in the fictional town of ...

Barbie was the creation of businesswoman Ruth Handler for her daughter Barbara, nicknamed Barbie. Handler wanted an adult female doll for her daughter to play with rather than the baby dolls girls ...

Born to Polish-Jewish immigrants, American entrepreneur and inventor Ruth Handler created Barbie, inspired by her daughter Barbara (Barbie’s boyfriend Ken would later be named for Ruth’s son ...

Ruth Handler, who co-founded Mattel with her husband, Elliot Handler, and Harold Matson in 1945, noticed her daughter, Barbara ... Ruth named the doll Barbie, after her daughter.