What was the name of the first Barbie doll?

Answer 1

Ruth Handler created the Barbie doll in 1959.Ruth and Elliott Handler founded the Mattel Co. in the 1940s. They had two children, Barbara and Kenneth. Ruth noted that Barbara played with paper dolls that looked like adults, rather than with the vinyl baby dolls that were popular in the 1950s. Ruth wanted to create a three-dimensional paper doll. Ruth and Barbara visited Germany in the mid-1950s, where Ruth first saw the little Lilli dolls. Lili was based on a comic strip character that was featured in a German magazine called Bild (that's German for "bold"). Both the comic and doll Lillis had ponytails and a narrow face with a sharp chin, plus the infamous large breasts, and Lilli was sold in many different outfits. Ruth bought the rights to the Lilli doll and took her back to the United States. She hired engineers to design a doll based on Lilli, and called her Barbie, after daughter Barbara. The Barbie doll was first shown at the Toy Fair in March 1959.

Answer 2

Ruth and Elliott Handler, the founders of Mattel, named the doll after their daughter Barbara. Yes, she is a real person. Barbara Handler Segal is still alive.

The inspiration for the Barbie doll was the Bild Lillie doll sold in Germany in the 1950s.

Ruth handler named the doll after her daughter Barbara

Believe it or not, Barbie originally was a real person. Her name was Barbara (Barbie) Handler and her mother and father were Ruth and Elliot. In the early 1950's, Barbie's mother watched her and her girlfriends play with adult female paper dolls more than they did the baby dolls. Her mother knew it was just as important for young girls to imagine what it would be like to be grown up. Since most of the adult dolls available at that time were paper or cardboard, Barbie's mother decided to make a three-dimensional female adult doll. One that was lifelike enough to serve as an inspiration for little girl's dreams of the future.

No.... Barbies are made of plastic. They don't talk, breathe, have heartbeats, etc. The only people who think that they are truly real need to visit a doctor, although in childhood years, a barbie is often a girls best friend (that's before they discover diamonds), so in the child's case it is often normal, even expected in most cases for the child to believe that they are real, but once you are like 20..... its time to accept the fact that they are plastic.
It is named after the inventor's daughter, Barbara.
handle's daughter barbara
Yes, Ruth Handler named the doll after her daughter Barbara.
no she is dead
No, barbie is not a real person
Barbie is real! I went to see her in Miami and she was doing a photo shoot. I asked her some questions about her life and how many plastic surgeries she had. She has had 15 plastic surgeries.
Ruth Handler watched her daughter Barbara at play with paper dolls, and noticed that she often enjoyed giving them adult roles. At the time, most children's toy dolls were representations of infants. Realizing that there could be a gap in the market, Handler suggested the idea of an adult-bodied doll to her husband Elliot, a co-founder of the Mattel toy company. He was unenthusiastic about the idea, as were Mattel's directors.

During a trip to Europe in 1956 with her children Barbara and Kenneth, Ruth Handler came across a German toy doll called Bild Lilli.[1] The adult-figured Lilli doll was exactly what Handler had in mind, so she purchased three of them. She gave one to her daughter and took the others back to Mattel. The Lilli doll was based on a popular character appearing in a comic strip drawn by Reinhard Beuthin for the newspaper Die Bild-Zeitung. Lilli was a working girl who knew what she wanted and was not above using men to get it. The Lilli doll was first sold in Germany in 1955, and although it was initially sold to adults, it became popular with children who enjoyed dressing her up in outfits that were available separately.

Upon her return to the United States, Handler reworked the design of the doll (with help from engineer Jack Ryan) and the doll was given a new name, Barbie, after Handler's daughter Barbara. The doll made its debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York on March 9, 1959. This date is also used as Barbie's official birthday. Mattel acquired the rights to the Bild Lilli doll in 1964 and production of Lilli was stopped. The first Barbie doll wore a black and white zebra striped swimsuit and signature topknot ponytail, and was available as either a blonde or brunette. The doll was marketed as a "Teen-age Fashion Model," with her clothes created by Mattel fashion designer Charlotte Johnson. The first Barbie dolls were manufactured in Japan, with their clothes hand-stitched by Japanese homeworkers. Around 350,000 Barbie dolls were sold during the first year of production.

Ruth Handler believed that it was important for Barbie to have an adult appearance, and early market research showed that some parents were unhappy about the doll's chest, which had distinct breasts. Barbie's appearance has been changed many times, most notably in 1971 when the doll's eyes were adjusted to look forwards rather than having the demure sideways glance of the original model.

Barbie was one of the first toys to have a marketing strategy based extensively on television advertising, which has been copied widely by other toys. It is estimated that over a billion Barbie dolls have been sold worldwide in over 150 countries, with Mattel claiming that three Barbie dolls are sold every second.[2]

The standard range of Barbie dolls and related accessories are manufactured to approximately 1/6th scale, which is also known as playscale.[3] Barbie products include not only the range of dolls with their clothes and accessories, but also a huge range of Barbie branded goods such as books, fashion items and Video Games. Barbie has appeared in a series of animated films and makes a brief guest appearance in the 1999 film Toy Story 2.

Almost uniquely for a toy fashion doll, Barbie has become a cultural icon and has been given honors that are rare in the toy world. In 1974 a section of Times Square in New York City was renamed Barbie Boulevard for a week, while in 1985 the artist Andy Warhol created a painting of Barbie.[4][5]

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbie

It was invented when the creator Ruth Handler and her daughter who were on vacation in the Swiss in 1956 saw a doll dressed in ski clothes.So it was decided they would make their own dolls dressed in ski clothes but make them only 11inches tall.

I believe the doll on a German girl, Lilly, and this persons daughter, Babara.

Ruth Handler adapted the design for the Barbie doll from the Bild Lillie doll, sold in Germany in the 1950s.

"Bild Lilli "

During a trip to Europe in 1956 with her children Barbara and Kenneth, Ruth Handler came across German toy doll called Bild Lilli.[1] The adult-figured Lilli doll was exactly what Handler had in mind, so she purchased three of them. She gave one to her daughter and took the others back to Mattel. The Lilli doll was based on a popular character appearing in a comic strip drawn by Reinhard Beuthin for the newspaper Die Bild-Zeitung. Lilli was a working girl who knew what she wanted and was not above using men to get it. The Lilli doll was first sold in Germany in 1955, and although it was initially sold to adults, it became popular with children who enjoyed dressing her up in outfits that were available separately.

Upon her return to the United States, Handler reworked the design of the doll (with help from engineer Jack Ryan) and the doll was given a new name, Barbie, after Handler's daughter Barbara. The doll made its debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York on March 9, 1959. This date is also used as Barbie's official birthday.

Mattel acquired the rights to the Bild Lilli doll in 1964 and production of Lilli was stopped.

http://www.answers.com/bild%20lilli

No!! She is based on a German FASHION doll! Look it up, bookworm! yes but the story goes that a housewife whose husband was a founder of mattel had taken a vacation to Germany and found an inspiring doll. having a little girl she thought it was a fashion doll, she thought wrong. It was actually a German sex doll. having never learned this horrifying news the founder and his wife never corrected their error!!! ( This was written by two different people who have completely different opinions. Take your pick which one's true.)

She got her inspiration by her daughter, Barbara who loved to play with dolls, but was forced to play with paper ones, because there were no options at that time (1950's) When she finally made it she named the barbie after her daughter.
Barbie was named after Barbara Handler, daughter of Ruth Handler, who created the doll. Barbara Handler is still alive.
She looks different with different dolls, it just depends.
I'm pretty sure I wasn't just imagining seeing rows upon rows of them at Toys 'R' Us.

The "Barbie" character in games, TV shows, books, etc. is not based on a specific real person, though the doll itself is (sort of) named after Barbara Handler, the daughter of the doll's creator.
No, but the doll was named after the creators daughter Barbara. The doll it's self was an adaptation of a German collectors figurine based on a news paper cartoon strip caracter.
Yes barbie is real, she is actually a human however her name is Babara Millicent Roberts. The creator of barbie Ruth handler is the mother of babara and her dad elliot handler owns mattel where all the barbies are made.
No, barbie is not a real person

Answer 3

The Barbie doll was created by Ruth Handler, and was inspired by a similar German doll called Bild Lilli, which she discovered on a trip to Europe in 1956. She named it for her daughter Barbara, and her husband began to produce it in 1959 through his toy company, Mattel.

Answer 4

Ruth and Elliott Handler founded the Mattel Co. in the 1940s. They had two children, Barbara and Kenneth. Ruth noted that Barbara played with paper dolls that looked like adults, rather than with the vinyl baby dolls that were popular in the 1950s. Ruth wanted to create a three-dimensional paper doll. Ruth and Barbara visited Germany in the mid-1950s, where Ruth first saw the little Lilli dolls. Lili was based on a comic strip character that was featured in a German magazine called Bild (that's German for "bold"). Both the comic and doll Lillis had ponytails and a narrow face with a sharp chin, plus the infamous large breasts, and Lilli was sold in many different outfits. Ruth bought the rights to the Lilli doll and took her back to the United States. She hired engineers to design a doll based on Lilli, and called her Barbie, after daughter Barbara. The Barbie doll was first shown at the Toy Fair in March 1959.

Answer 5

If you're asking about the early ponytails and bubblecuts, she was just referred to as a "Teenage Fashion Model."
#1 ponytail Barbie, blonde or brunette, sold in 1959

Answer 6

I don't know about the first doll, but the doll "Barbie" is named after the creators daughter... Then Ken is named after her son!!!

Answer 7

The barbie doll is named barbie because the creator of barbie had named it after her daughter

Answer 8

The designer was Ruth Handler and the company was Mattel.