As part of its Inspiring Women Series — and coinciding with Black Business Month — Mattel is releasing a Barbie paying tribute to Madam C.J. Walker.
Walker — the laundress-turned haircare mogul who became the first self-made Black female millionaire — was also a philanthropist and a social activist. Walker is honored at a museum on Hilliard Street in Atlanta.
“As a pioneer in entrepreneurship, philanthropy, and activism, creating the blueprint for the self-made American businesswoman and innovators of the twentieth century, Madam C.J. Walker is an embodiment of our Barbie Inspiring Women series,” Lisa McKnight, executive vice president and global head of Barbie and dolls for Mattel, said in a statement. “We’re honored to welcome her into this group of trailblazing women and introduce more kids to her journey of becoming one of the nation’s first widely successful female founders.”
Credit: Mattel
Credit: Mattel
Barbie worked with Walker’s great-great-granddaughter A’Lelia Bundles to design the doll.
“To be able to have Madam C.J. Walker included in Barbie’s Inspiring Women Series means her story will go out across the world in a way it never has before,” Bundles told Yahoo Life. “To know little girls and big girls will have access to Madam Walker and just that physical symbolism of her story means it’s going to be exploding exponentially in a way it never has before.”
Walker created her wealth and reputation through her line of hair care products and cosmetics specifically for Black women. According to Yahoo Life, her legacy includes supporting the NAACP, the YWCA, the YMCA and several Black colleges.
Earlier this year, Barbie’s Inspiring Women Series paid tribute to Ida B. Wells and Jane Goodall. Last year, it was Maya Angelou, Helen Keller and Eleanor Roosevelt. Others who have been honored include Billie Jean King, Ella Fitzgerald, Katherine Johnson, Rosa Parks and Sally Ride.
The Madam C.J. Walker Barbie is available now at Walmart, Target, Amazon and Mattel Creations for a suggested retail price of $35.
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