(From left) Viola Davis, Helen Mirren, Shania Twain and Kylie Minogue got their own Barbies for International Women's Day. Photos: TNS
As Barbie fever rolls into Oscar weekend — with Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster film up for eight awards — Mattel has unveiled its new slate of Role Model Dolls, featuring two Academy Awards winners, a Canadian born country queen and an Australian dance music diva.
To celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8 and the iconic doll’s 65th birthday on March 9, the toy company announced Wednesday that it’s adding new dolls modeled after Viola Davis, Dame Helen Mirren, Shania Twain and Kylie Minogue to its cannon.
However, the one-of-a-kind dolls are not for sale and were instead gifted to each woman to honor their achievements and contributions to the world.
According to Mattel, the dolls are meant to introduce “girls to remarkable women’s stories to show them you can be anything.”
Davis, 58, the only EGOT recipient and American born among the new crop of role models, said she “wanted this Barbie to make little six-year-old Viola squeal.
“It is my biggest gift to her...my lifelong mission and legacy to make her feel pretty, seen, and worthy,” said the L’Oreal spokeswoman, whose abusive and poverty-stricken childhood was documented in her no-holds-barred Finding Me memoir that topped the New York Times bestsellers list in 2022.
Mirren, another acclaimed Academy Award winner and L’Oreal spokesperson, said she was “absolutely blown away” after being made into a Barbie doll.
The 78-year-old actress, who just so happens to be the narrator of the Barbie film, said being chosen as a role model “is a huge compliment, and something I would never have imagined in my wildest dreams happening to me at this stage in my life.”
Her doll is seen holding an Oscars statue and wearing the same blue dress Mirren wore at the Cannes Film Festival last year.
Meanwhile, country superstar Shania Twain took to social media Wednesday to share her joy over the once-in-a-lifetime honor.
“Pinch me!!,” the 58-year-old singer-songwriter wrote in part about the doll, adorned in an all-black ensemble to emulate the look Twain wore in the 1999 music video for female empowerment anthem Man! I Feel Like A Woman!.
“All I’ve wanted to do my whole life is tell stories of empowerment, independence and self-expression through my songwriting,” she added. “Getting to do that and inspire women and girls along the way is the dream... everything else is a beautiful bonus.”
Minogue also shared an image with her doll, adding the caption: “Look at Padam Barbie!!!! Baby Kylie would NOT believe this is happening right now!”
The 55-year-old singer, recognised as the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, boasts a string of hits including The Loco-Motion, Dance Alone, and Can’t Get You Out Of My Head. She recently won her the inaugural Grammy for Best Pop Dance Recording for 2023’s Padam Padam.
Other notable women from around the world with dolls made for the occasion include Brazilian content creator Maira Gomez, Mexican filmmaker Lila Avilés, Japanese model and TV personality Nicole Fujita and German comedian activist Enissa Amani.
“Girls in particular need to be able to see women telling their own stories, writing their own narratives, living out their own dreams, and we’re happy to honour these women in celebration of Barbie’s 65th,” Mattel executive Kim Culmone told People. – New York Daily News/Tribune News Service
