We cheered as she landed her prince and consoled each other when she lost him again. It was just the tip of our fandom for the animated Barbie films that Mattel began releasing at a rate of around one per year beginning with “Nutcracker” in 2001 and eventually totaling about 40 films.
While this is the first live-action ode to the toy, Barbie has actually appeared in 40 computer-animated films over the years, beginning with Barbie in the Nutcracker in 2001.
Currently there are 43 Barbie movies, beginning with 2001's Barbie in the Nutcracker, and ending with this July's live-action Barbie film starring Margot Robbie. There is a 44th film titled Barbie & Stacie to the Rescue, due in 2024.
Today, the doll itself is 64 years old; in 2023, Barbie would technically be 83 years old if she aged. However, toy company Mattel has said that she's perpetually frozen in time at the age of 19. Despite her ageless appearance, Barbie holds a wide array of adult careers.
Calculating Barbie's age from her manufacturing debut, the first Barbie doll is now over 64 years old. Considering that Barbie was created as a 19-year-old doll, she could technically be up to 83 years old.
Barbie, formally known as “Barbara Millicent Roberts,” was born in 1959, which would technically make her 63 years old — except for the small fact that she was born as a 19-year-old.
In March 1959, a doll named "Barbie" launched onto the American toy market, sporting a black-and-white striped bathing suit, pouty red lips and a sassy blonde ponytail. The leggy, 11-inch plastic figure—full name: Barbara Millicent Roberts—was the first mass-produced toy doll in the U.S. with adult features.
Barbie was the first mass-produced toy doll in the U.S. with adult features. The doll's original design was based on a German doll named Lilli, which was originally marketed as a raunchy gag gift for adult men. Mattel bought the rights to Lilli, and Handler renamed it "Barbie" after her daughter, Barbara.
Ken® doll's official birthday is March 11, 1961 – making Ken® 2 days and 2 years younger than Barbie®. Starting out with nine outfits, a skinny frame and fuzzy crew cut, he's always stood by Barbie.
Handler died in California from complications of surgery for colon cancer on April 27, 2002, aged 85. Her husband Elliot died nine years later at the age of 95.
Technically, Ken has no official age (he is a doll, after all) although he was first introduced as Barbie's boyfriend on March 11, 1961, which means he has been around for 62 years. (Barbie was created in 1959, which would make her 64.)
Ken (short for Kenneth Carson) hit the toy aisle as Barbie's buyable boyfriend two years after her 1959 debut. He was available in two styles — blond or brunette hair, made of hard plastic — and came dressed in very short red swim trunks.
Barbie and Ken felt it was “time to spend some quality time apart” with Arons hinting that Ken's reluctance to put a ring on it may have played a part in their breakup. Still, the two swore the breakup was amicable and they would remain friends.
Although the doll was part of a 'Happy Family' line of dolls, there was backlash at the time for endorsing 'teenage pregnancy', so the road towards endorsing a liberating world through Barbie dolls has admittedly not always been smooth. Regardless, for Ruth the idea was to keep Barbie single and child free.
