The first Black Barbie was created in 1980 by Kitty Black Perkins. Here’s everything to know about the doll and her creator.

Now, Barbie is celebrating the 45th anniversary of their first-ever Black Barbie doll with a collectible doll of creator Black Perkins, who worked at the brand as a pioneering designer until 2004.

The first Black Barbie, which debuted in 1980, featured a doll fully immersed in her identity. Designed by Kitty Black Perkins, the doll had an Afro to complement her red dress and gold jewelry.

Mattel did introduce Black fashion dolls in the late 1960s, but they were not named Barbie, and they were marketed as Barbie's friends. So the arrival of a true Black Barbie was an important moment.

"Black Barbie" director Lagueria Davis and Kitty Black Perkins, designer of the first Black Barbie, discuss the legacy of the doll and her cultural impact.

The doll wasn’t greenlit until Perkins was hired as a Barbie designer in 1976. Black Barbie hit the market in 1980, and Perkins explains in the film that the doll was designed to be reminiscent ...

Mattel worked closely with a doctor to create Chelsea, who wears a back brace and has curvature in her spine. Watch Now Menu Local National Weather Sports Traffic Watch Now ...

Margot Robbie’s Barbie made film history last year. But in the Eighties, three Black women revolutionized the doll brand when they helped push for a Black Barbie.On Tuesday, Netflix released the ...

In Netflix documentary "Black Barbie," out Wednesday, June 19, executive producer Shonda Rhimes, ... Black Barbie became the first doll of color to be given the name “Barbie” in 1980.

The Black Barbie doll with Down syndrome is the second Barbie Fashionista doll with the condition. The first, a Caucasian doll with blonde hair , was released in 2023. "NDSS is thrilled to ...

In addition to Blind Barbie, Black Barbie with Down syndrome was unveiled on Tuesday. Just as it was counseled back in 2023 with the introduction of its first-ever Down syndrome doll, Barbie once ...

Mattel worked closely with a doctor to create Chelsea, who wears a back brace and has curvature in her spine. 1 weather alerts 1 closings/delays. Watch Now. 1 weather alerts 1 closings/delays.