Ed note: With all the hoopla about the recently released “Barbie” movie, we thought this was a good time to turn the spotlight on Barbie’s “Jewish mother.”
Ruth Handler (November 4, 1916 – April 27, 2002) was an businesswoman and inventor. She is best known for inventing the Barbie doll in 1959, and being the first president of toy manufacturer Mattel from 1945 until 1975. Handler co-founded the company with her husband Elliot Handler. The Handlers were forced to resign from Mattel in 1975 after the Securities and Exchange Commission investigated the company for falsifying financial documents.
— Wikipedia
Quotes: ”She became not just a doll. She became part of that child through those growing up years. Many of those children set their life’s dreams, their goals, through Barbie. Many of them said Barbie helped them achieve those dreams.” | “In those days back when I started the business, there were no other women running a company. The biggest hurdle for me was to be accepted as a boss, and as a leader. In retrospect, the fact that I was a woman was sort of an advantage because men didn’t know how to react or read me.”
— Quotewise.com
Learn more about Ruth Handler from Wikipedia. ►
Watch “Ruth Hander: Inventor of ‘Barbie’) R.I.P.” [11:23]. ►
Watch “The Barbie Story — Interview With Ruth Handler and Elliot Handler, Mattel Co-Founders” [2:38]. ►
Watch “The History of the Barbie Doll” [5:15]. ►
Photo: Women’s Agenda
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