Ruth Handler watched her daughter Barbara at play with paper dolls, and noticed that she often enjoyedgiving them adult roles. At the time, most children's toy ドール 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 ヨーロッパ in 1956 with her children Barbara and Kenneth, Ruth Handler came across German toy doll called Bild Lilli.[1] The adult-figured 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 人気 character appearing in a comic strip drawn によって 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 人気 with children who enjoyed dressing her up in outfits that were available separately.

Upon her return to the United States, Handler reworked the デザイン of the doll (with help from engineer Jack Ryan) and the doll was 与えられた 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 日付 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 バービー doll wore a black and white シマウマ, ゼブラ striped 水着 and signature topknot ponytail, and was available as either a blonde または brunette. The doll was marketed as a "Teen-age Fashion Model," with her clothes created によって Mattel fashion designer シャルロット, シャーロット Johnson. The first バービー ドール were manufactured in Japan, with their clothes hand-stitched によって Japanese homeworkers. Around 350,000 バービー ドール were sold during the first 年 of production.

Ruth Handler believed that it was important for バービー 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.

バービー was one of the first toys to have a marketing strategy based extensively on テレビ advertising, which has been copied widely によって other toys. It is estimated that over a billion バービー ドール have been sold worldwide in over 150 countries, with Mattel claiming that three バービー ドール are sold every second.[2]

The standard range of バービー ドール and related accessories are manufactured to approximately 1/6th scale, which is also known as playscale.[3] バービー products include not only the range of ドール with their clothes and accessories, but also a large range of バービー branded goods such as books, apparel, cosmetics and video games. バービー has appeared in a series of animated films and is a supporting character in Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3.

バービー has become a cultural アイコン and has been 与えられた honors that are rare in the toy world. In 1974 a section of Times Square in New York City was renamed バービー Boulevard for a week. In 1985 the artist Andy Warhol created a painting of Barbie.[4][5]

In 2009, バービー celebrated her 50th birthday. The celebrations included a 滑走路 表示する in New York for the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.[6] The event showcased fashions contributed によって fifty well-known haute couturiers including Diane von Fürstenberg, Vera Wang, Calvin Klein, Bob Mackie, and Christian Louboutin.[7][8]