How old is the original Barbie doll?

The original Barbie doll was introduced in 1959. It was invented by Ruth Handler and debuted at New York's American Toy Fair. The second doll in the series, Ken, came onto the market in 1961.

The original version of the Barbie doll came with either blond or brown hair; a red-haired Barbie was introduced in 1961. The first African-American doll in the line, Christie, went on sale in 1968, but an African-American version of the original Barbie did not debut until 12 years later in 1980. A Hispanic version of Barbie went on sale at the same time as the African-American version.