Barbie Millicent Roberts was born on March 9, 1959. She grew up in Willows, Wisconsin and graduated from Willows High School in 1963. In 1965 Barbie even attended college. How many dolls do you know that come with a life background? Not many.

Barbie's first appearance was at the American Toy Fair in 1959 by her creators Ruth and Elliot Handler, founders of Mattel Toys. The idea of Barbie came when Ruth saw her daughter playing with paper dolls and realized there were no older dolls that were 3 dimensional. When first mentioning the idea to her husband, the man at Mattel laughed. They did not think it would be possible to create an adult figured doll that would sell. During Ruth's trip to German, however, she came upon a German doll named Lilli in a shop window.Lilli was an adult female doll that was high in society and did not need a man to get what she wanted. This was just want Handler had in mind. She brought the dolls back to America and Mattel started their creation of her invisioned doll. Ruth named Barbie after her daughter. Barbie was created to "project every little girl's dream of the future."

When Barbie was first designed, Mattel was not sure whether or not America was ready for a doll to have a woman's figure. She recieved mixed review. Some thought Barbie in her swimsuit to be sleazy along with her heavy makeup and curvy body. Others thought she was wonderful and perfect for girls to look up to fashion and social wise.

The early fashions of Barbie were made to reflect the values and beliefs of middle-class America. They designed Barbie to be a teenager that girls would want to imitate. Barbie was glamorous, yet with outfits such as tennis dresses, ballerina outfits, and bridal gowns she was a safe role model. She illustrated a healthy lifestyle yet had high fashion. Through Barbie's fashion she taught independence. She was her own woman and could invent herself with a costume change.