Ruth & Elliot Create Mattel

Mattel began in 1945, as a collaboration between Ruth and Elliot Handler, and Harold “Matt” Matson. They were designers and engineers, whose collective focus on creativity and innovation changed how kids play.

In 1947, the company’s first big hit was the Uke-A-Doodle, a child-sized instrument designed to make music more interactive and accessible. Within two years, Mattel’s musical toy line brought in $9 million.

Barbie Debuts

Ruth Handler, co-founder of Mattel, saw that her daughter Barbara’s toy choices were limited. Barbara could only play out being a mom or caregiver, whereas her son had toys that allowed him to imagine himself as a firefighter, astronaut, doctor, and more.

Ruth later observed Barbara playing with paper dolls for hours and recognized the opportunity to champion and inspire girls by introducing a three-dimensional doll that showed them that they could be anything.

Ruth wanted to create a doll with adult features so girls could play out their future selves. However, her team saw challenges with molding realistic details on such a small scale. It was not until Ruth traveled to Europe and stumbled on a doll in a Swiss shop that her dream became a reality. She quickly bought the doll and brought it back to the United States.