New Barbie the film is causing a sensation in North America and the world. While the idea and concept around live action movie making is fairly new, the origins of the iconic American doll date back to the late 1950s.
Barbie was the brainchild of an American businesswoman/inventor named Ruth Handle, who founded the Mattel toy company with her husband. She created the first fashion doll in 1959.
The 2023 film based on the doll was directed by Greta Gerwig and stars Margot Robbie as Barbie, Kate McKinnon as Weird Barbie, Issa Rae as President Barbie, Dua Lipa as Mermaid Barbie, Ryan Gosling as Ken, and John Cena as Kenmaid.
They are joined by America Ferrera as Gloria, Michael Cera as Allan, Ariana Greenblatt as Sasha, and Rhea Perlman as the ghost of Ruth Handler, among several others.
Who was Ruth Handler? Five important facts you should know Barbie inventor of dolls
1) Handler was born to immigrant parents
Ruth Handler (1916-2002) created the first adult-like doll for the mass market. She named the doll after her daughter Barbara. Barb’s male counterpart, Ken, named after her son, soon followed. More than a billion Barbies have been sold in 150 countries. pic.twitter.com/98W0qxVVT3
Handler was born in 1916 to a blacksmith named Jacob Moskowicz and his wife Ida Moskowicz, née Rubenstein, of Ruth Marianna Mosko in Denver, Colorado. The family were Polish Jewish immigrants.
Ruth then moved to Los Angeles in 1938, after marrying Elliot Handler, who was her high school sweetheart. After moving to a new city, she started working at Paramount.
2) Before toys, Ruth Handler and her husband made furniture.
Ruth’s husband, Elliot, had some experience making furniture. The couple decided to make their furniture out of two types of plastic, Lucite and Plexiglas. Ruth later advised Elliot to start selling furniture commercially and thus started a new furniture manufacturing company.
While Elliot was the mastermind of the operation, his wife Ruth ran the sales. He has even won contracts with several high-profile clients, such as the Douglas Aircraft Company and other companies.
3) Mattel Foundation
After the success of their small business, Ruth recognized the potential to become an entrepreneur with her husband. The pair soon hooked up with Harold “Matt” Matson. Harold’s last name and Elliot’s given name were merged into “Mattel”.
Ruth’s name should also have been used, but it didn’t seem to match the company name. Furniture sales plummeted during World War II, prompting the couple to try their hand at toy furniture. Mattel soon became a full-time toy company.
4) Birth of Barbie
The origin of the legendary doll has two different stories. According to the first, when Ruth and Elliot were visiting Europe, they saw a doll that looked like an adult woman. This was unusual because baby dolls were the most popular toys at the time.
However, another story says that after seeing her daughter Barbara playing with paper dolls, Ruth wanted to create something that was more realistic. The first doll was presented at the American Toy Fair held on March 9, 1959 in New York.
The doll was a great success. Only 351,000 units were sold in the 12 months after launch. As time went by, a new male character named Ken was introduced.
5) Life after leaving Mattel
Handler resigned from Mattel in 1974, after being found guilty of fraud and false reporting before the US Securities and Exchange Commission. After pleading no contest, he was ordered to pay a $57,000 fine and perform 2,500 hours of community service.
She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1970 and cited her illness as the reason she lost focus in her work. Handler died on April 27, 2002 at the age of 85.
Rhea Perlman plays Ruth Handler in the 2023 film. Barbie.
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Source: newstars.edu.vn