
Ruth Handler
business leader
Ruth Handler was a regular go-getter. The youngest of 10 siblings, she landed her first job {as a secretary for Paramount Pictures} while vacationing in LA. When she married her childhood sweetheart, her parents thought she was throwing away her life on a "starving artist." Instead, the two played perfectly to each other's strengths in marketing + design, partnering up to found 3 pioneering plastics companies from their own garage. Their last startup would grow to become the US's largest toy manufacturer.
The secret behind Mattel's huge success? Ruth's uncanny ability to anticipate a trend. When she first pitched Barbie in 1959, no one thought the busty "teenage fashion model" would fly in a market dominated by baby dolls. Not only was Ruth's Barbie an instant success, it quickly became a pop-culture icon + touchstone for feminist debates. More than 5 decades + 150 Barbie-careers later, Ruth's brainchild remains one of the world's best-selling toys.
Barbie | being the mother of one of the world's most popular toys + a pop-culture icon
marketing genius | being a natural-born saleswoman
breasts | introducing them on dolls, then designing them for "mastectomees"
controversial feminism | continued belief that her products were empowering in the face of continuing criticism that her dolls are damaging to girls' self-esteem + reinforce an unrealistic feminine ideal based on male fantasies
1959 | launched the first Barbie doll from her toy company Mattel after considerable resistance from male execs
1970 | had a mastectomy + launched a prosthesis company, Nearly Me
1975 | resigned from Mattel + retired
her position then | her position now
a film studio secretary | co-founder of the US's leading toy manufacturer
born on
November 2, 1916
born in
Denver, Colorado
birth name
Ruth Marianna Mosko
citizen of
The United States of America
lived in
Los Angeles, California
daughter of
Jacob Moskowicz
~ a blacksmith who worked on the railroad ~
Ida Moskowicz
~ Polish immigrants whose last name was shortened to "Mosko" by the agents at Ellis Island upon their arrival in 1907 ~
sister of
9 older siblings
~ Ruth's mother was 40 when she had her; she was raised by an elder married sister ~
married to
{Isadore} Elliot Handler
~ married 1938 - her death ~
~ an art student turned designer + entrepreneur ~
~ Ruth + Elliot met at a B'nai B'rith dance when she was 16 ~
mother of
2 children | Barbara {Barbie!} + Kenneth {Ken!}
~ Ken died in 1994 of a brain tumor ~
grandmother of
6 grandchildren | Cheryl, Todd, Samantha, Jeffrey, Stacey + Steven
worked alongside
Elliot Handler
~ her husband + head designer + co-founder ~
her companies
Elliot Handler Plastics
~ named after her husband | founded in 1939 ~
Elzac
~ named after the 2 male partners, Elliot + Zachary | founded in 1942 ~
Mattel
~ named after the 2 male partners, Matt + Elliot | founded in 1945 ~
advocate for
women's health
~ especially public education about early detection for breast cancer ~
died on
April 27, 2002
image credit
Mattel on Facebook
"Every little girl needed a doll through which to project herself into her dream of her future. If she was going to do role playing of what she would be like when she was 16 or 17, it was a little stupid to play with a doll that had a flat chest."
The New York Times | 1977
"I was really depressed. But I felt even worse when I went looking for a good prosthesis. I tried every breast on the market. They were globs; there were no rights or lefts. You wouldn't think of putting your right shoe on your left foot, would you?"
Barbie Doll Developer Offers a New Look to Mastectomy Victims | april 1977
"I couldn't just screech to a halt after racing all my life."
Barbie Doll Developer Ruth Handler Offers a New Look to Mastectomy Victims | april 1977
"Give a good squeeze. Can you feel the difference?"
Barbie Doll Developer Offers a New Look to Mastectomy Victims | april 1977
"Unlike play with a baby doll—in which a little girl is pretty much limited to assuming the role of Mommy—Barbie has always represented the fact that a woman has choices."
Dream Doll | 1994
"As a child, Barbara longed for an 'ordinary' life. Her definition of such a life included a mother who was always available, always home. And though I dearly loved my children...and made them my first priority, the staying home part just wasn't in my makeup."
Dream Doll | 1994
"I loved the challenge of selling. Adrenaline surged through me whenever I walked into a store with samples and walked out with an order."
Dream Doll | 1994
for further reading about Ruth Handler:
curated with care by Alicia Williamson
Mickey Mouse Club
In 1955, Ruth made a bold marketing move ~ she bought the exclusive rights to advertising on the Mickey Mouse Club. It was a risky venture. The $500K price tag was as much as her young company was worth! But, her gamble paid off, and Mattel's marketing innovation ~ appealing directly to kids ~ became a new industry norm.
TV Radio Mirror
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Ruth's original Barbie
Ruth introduced her iconic doll at a 1959 toy fair in New York. The mother of Barbie named her brainchild after her own daughter ~ Barbara ~ who loved playing with fashion paper dolls. Ruth thought ~ why not make her a 3-D model? Her idea was controversial. Barbie was the first girl's doll to feature an ample bosom. But, the toymaker thought breasts were important if girls were to project their future dreams onto the doll. Her risque move was a huge success.
Mattel
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Ruth's new-and-improved prosthesis
When the cancer patient couldn't find a decent prosthetic breast on the market, she decided it was time she created one for her fellow mastectomees. In 1976, Ruth founded the company Nearly Me, bringing together doctors, engineers, chemists, designers + female patients to create a line of silicon + foam models. Her protheses not only took size + shape, left + right into consideration, but also their weight + feel. Her bold sales pitch? Telling prospective customers to give her bra a "good squeeze" to see if they could tell the difference!
Albany
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