Who Is Barbie? Origin, Powers and Key Facts

Barbie is a Mattel comic book character, the alter ego of Barbara Millicent Roberts, with over 293 comic issue appearances. Barbie is a character based on the doll of the same name. She has had many different appearances and occupations trough history. For many decades she has been a role model for girls around the world.

Who is Barbie?

Origin Barbie was created by Ruth Handler, wife of Mattel’s co-founder Elliot Handler. The inspiration to create a more „adult“ kind of doll came from watching her daughter Barbara playing with paper dolls. In 1956, Ruth visited Germany with her kids and discovered a doll named Bild Lilli. Bild Lilli was based on a popular character from a Reinhard Beuthin comic strip published in Die Bild-Zeitung newspaper. The thing that especially caught her attention was the clothes that was sold separately from the dolls, that many of the children bought in order to play dress up and create different outfits. Once she returned home, Ruth discussed the idea to create their own doll with her husband and his partner Harold Matson, the other founder of Mattel, and they agreed to her proposition. She redesigned Lilli doll with the help of designer Jack Ryan, and named her Barbie, after her daughter. First Barbie dolls were made in Japan.

Key facts

Barbie is of human origin. The character is published by Mattel. With 293 recorded issue appearances, Barbie ranks among the most featured characters in comics.