LOS ANGELES (L.A. Times) — Ruth Handler, the entrepreneur and marketing genius who co-founded Mattel and created the Barbie doll, one of the world's most enduring and popular toys, died Saturday.
Handler was 85 and died at a Los Angeles hospital of complications following colon surgery about three months ago, said her husband, Elliot.
The longtime Southern California resident defied prevailing trends in the toy industry of the late 1950s when she proposed an alternative to the flat-chested baby dolls then marketed to girls.
Barbie, a teenage doll with a tiny waist, slender hips and impressive bust, became not only a best-selling toy with more than 1 billion sold in 150 countries, but a cultural icon analyzed by scholars, attacked by feminists and showcased in the Smithsonian Institution.
Handler devoted her later years to a second, trailblazing career: manufacturing and marketing artificial breasts for women who had undergone mastectomy.
She is survived by her husband of 63 years; her daughter, Barbara Segal; one brother, Aaron Mosko; five grandchildren and one great-grandchild.