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The Barbie doll was invented in 1959 by Ruth Handler (co-founder of Mattel), whose own daughter was called Barbara.
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Ken (Ken Sean Carson) is a Mattel toy doll introduced by Mattel in 1961 as the fictional boyfriend of toy doll Barbie.
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1968 Barbie's girlfriend Christie, an African-American doll, is introduced in 1968. Barbie also speaks for the first time this year. At the pull of a string, she utters six phrases, including "I have a date tonight!" and "I love being a fashion model!"
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1976 Barbie proves that it is possible to have it all. She becomes an Olympic skier, a gymnast, skater, doctor, surgical nurse, ballerina and a flight attendant. Barbie is selected as the "doll of the century" for the U.S. bicentennial celebration. She is placed in a time capsule, scheduled to be opened in 2076.
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1990 Barbie has a short-lived music career, singing with her group, Barbie and the Beats.
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It airs on CBS Thanksgiving day, and quickly becomes one of the highest grossing children's videos/DVDs in history.
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Barbie and Ken split up.
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Midge Hadley is a fictional doll character in the Barbie line of toys by Mattel that was first released in 2009.
