Who is Barbara Millicent Roberts? You have known her for years but you probably don’t know her by her full name. Nor did you know she had a last name at all.
Barbara is one of those people who go by one name. You know…like Cher …or Madonna….or “Formerly Known as Prince.”
Barbara Millicent Roberts was born in 1959, but she looks like she is in her 20’s. She used to have feet that always pointed like she was wearing high heals but now she is sometimes seen with her feet flat, which people were beginning to wonder if she could physically do.
Barbara goes by the nick name Barbie.
image from Pinterest
Barbie has been a household name since the late 1950’s and has not been forgotten. Barbie often takes on the last name of “Doll.”
In 1992, a Barbie doll was sold every two minutes around the globe.
Source – The Intentions Behind the Creation of Barbie by Briana Piche
Barbie Doll was born in 1959, as we know, and she has an extensive wardrobe, including the outfits and uniforms for the many jobs she has help. Barbie began as a fashion model and then as rumors have it, went back to school several times to achieve advanced degrees.
image from Pinterest
She has been seen with her head in the clouds as a stewardess and also as a night club singer. She has worked both as a teacher and as an officer of the law, pulling over drunk drivers.
image from Pinterest
You can see a variety of Barbie’s outfits at THIS link on Flickr.
The first Barbie doll was thought up by Elliot Handler of the Mattel Toy Company, with the initial suggestion by his wife Ruth. Mrs. Handler thought of the idea that children would play with an adult aged doll. Prior to Barbie most girls played with baby dolls and practiced being mommies.
There was a German doll called Bild Lilli that was an adult female doll. Ruth Handler saw this doll during one of the trips her husband and she took to Germany.
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 blonde bombshell, 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.
source – Wikipedia
They used this doll to help with their idea of how the Barbie doll should look, but came up with their own unique design.
The Bild Lilli doll had her own comic strip where she was a sexy doll of a woman. Excuse the pun.
In the comics, Lilli was witty, irreverent… and sexually uninhibited. One strip, summarized by Lord, shows Lilli covering her naked body with a newspaper and explaining to a friend…
source – Time Magazine
Bild Lilli was a comic strip in a newspaper printed in Hamburg Germany. The comic was for adults and began in 1952, and appeared in the newspaper called Bild-Zeitung.
One particular comic strip had the following tale of Bild Lilli meeting a police officer and being told she could not wear a two-piece bathing suit in public.
…shows Lilli in a bikini; when a policeman tells her that two-piece swimsuits are illegal, she says, “Oh, and in your opinion, which part should I take off?”
source – Time Magazine
The full name “Barbara Millicent Roberts” appears in a series of novels about her fictional life.
Barbie’s full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts. In a series of novels published by Random House in the 1960s, her parents’ names are given as George and Margaret Roberts from the fictional town of Willows, Wisconsin
source – Wikipedia
They bought the rights to the Bild Lilli doll in order to stop the production of that doll, which apparently they did not want to compete with.
You can read more about the history of Barbie at THIS LINK and you will see a picture of the original Barbie. Take note of the way her eyes are looking. You do not see dolls these days with that kind of a sexy, come-hither look.
image from Pinterest and Flickr
Barbie dolls became terrifically popular and are sold in 150 countries.
source – Good Housekeeping Magazine
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.
source – Wikipedia
Proportions of the doll have been redesigned to alter her unattainable body proportions and to make her look more realistic. The original doll had proportions that you do not see on real women. The waist is too small to go with the breasts and the hips.
image from Pinterest
Barbie’s vital statistics have been estimated at 36 inches (chest), 18 inches (waist) and 33 inches (hips). According to research by the University Central Hospital in Helsinki, Finland, she would lack the 17 to 22 percent body fat required for a woman to be healthy enough to have children.
source – Wikipedia
There is also an article that Barbie appears in, which is called “125 Women Who Changed Our World.” You can see a great picture of the original Barbie on page 14 of THIS ARTICLE printed in Good Housekeeping magazine.
I happened to come across a blog called Matisse Fashions and Dolls. She is a talented doll dress designer and you might enjoy taking a peak at her designs HERE. If you notice my earlier posts today you will see some links to some of my favorite designs of hers.
Even ZOMBIE killer Barbie has been spotted recently ! This is a character from the Walking Dead Series . She is Michonne.
Barbara Millicent Roberts has come a long way since 1959 and she is still getting wrapped and placed under Christmas trees all over the world !
GentleKindness 