Ruth Handler

Hello, my name is Ruth Handler, and I believe that with a little imagination, you can create wonderful things. I was born on November 4th, 1916, in Denver, Colorado. Even as a young girl, my mind was always buzzing with new ideas. I loved to imagine and build things that no one had ever seen before. As I grew up, I met my wonderful husband, Elliot, who was just as creative as I was. We fell in love and shared a big dream: to start a business where we could make our ideas come to life for everyone to enjoy.

Our first business started in a very small place—our garage in California. Elliot and I began by making picture frames. After we cut the wood for the frames, we noticed all the leftover scraps. I hated to see them go to waste, so we used them to create tiny furniture for dollhouses. Seeing how much fun those little creations were sparked an even bigger idea. In 1945, we decided to focus on toys. We asked our good friend, Harold 'Matt' Matson, to join us. To come up with a name for our new company, we combined 'Matt' with Elliot's name. That is how our toy company, Mattel, was born.

My most famous idea came to me while I was watching my daughter, Barbara, play. She had a collection of paper dolls and would spend hours creating stories for them. I noticed that she wasn't pretending they were babies or children; she was pretending they were grown-ups. They had jobs, went on adventures, and lived exciting adult lives. I looked at the dolls in stores and realized they were all baby dolls. There were no three-dimensional dolls with adult bodies that girls could use to imagine their futures. Then, during a family trip to Europe in 1956, I saw a doll in a shop window that looked just like the one I had been dreaming of. Seeing it proved to me that my idea could really work.

When I returned home, I was excited to share my idea for a new kind of doll. However, it was a challenge to convince the men who worked at my own company, Mattel. They were all skeptical. They didn't think parents would ever buy their children a doll that had a grown-up body. But I truly believed in my idea and knew that girls would love it. I decided to name the doll after my daughter, so I called her 'Barbie.' On March 9th, 1959, we introduced Barbie to the world at the American International Toy Fair in New York City. The other toy makers were unsure, but children and parents loved her! Barbie was a huge hit. A few years later, we introduced a boyfriend doll for her and named him 'Ken,' after my son.

After many successful years at Mattel, I faced a new and difficult challenge in my personal life. In the 1970s, I became very sick. This experience was hard, but it also gave me a new purpose. I realized that many other women who had gone through the same sickness as me needed special products to help them feel comfortable and confident again. I saw another need that wasn't being met. So, in 1976, I started a brand-new company. This company made products designed specifically for these women. Once again, I was using my imagination and drive to create something that would help people live better, happier lives.

I lived to be 85 years old, and my life was filled with turning imagination into reality. I am remembered as the creator of Barbie, a toy that has inspired millions of children. Barbie showed girls that they could be anything they wanted to be—from an astronaut to a doctor to a business owner. My goal was always to inspire others to dream big. I hope my story encourages you to look at the world around you, see problems as opportunities, and never, ever give up on your own great ideas.