‹‹ Colorado Matters

It’s a Barbie World thanks to the vision of Colorado’s Ruth Handler

Listen Now
8min 27sec
showimage
Courtesy of Mattel

The Barbie movie hits theaters this week and is expected to be a summer blockbuster. So we want to revisit a bit of Colorado Barbie history. The woman who created the ubiquitous doll was born in Denver. Ruth Handler was also the co-founder of Mattel. She was inspired by her daughter Barbara, who is indeed the namesake of the iconic doll. Robin Gerber is the author of "Barbie and Ruth." She spoke with Ryan Warner in 2019.