Timeline

2009

  • Over 1 billion Barbies have been sold
  • This year, Barbie turns fifty, but shows no signs of slowing down, having already worked as a trainer at Sea World, a nursery school doctor, a vet, a pre school teacher and a gymnastic coach. She has most recently been an intern at a major fashion magazine - going back to her roots.

2008

  • Barbie gets a belly button, and loses her Twist waist.
  • Aware of the global crisis, Barbie goes green with a new eco-concious line of accessories
  • Barbie is a TV Chef
  • Barbie is a swimming instructor
  • Barbie coaches soccer
  • Barbie works with kids at Space Camp
  • Barbie runs for president again

2007

  • Barbie launches her own doll shaped MP3 player
  • Barbie is a pet sitter
  • Barbie passes on her dance skills to students as a ballet teacher
  • Barbie turns her hand to children's photography
  • Barbie is a cake baker
  • Barbie creates her own virtual world for her fans

    • 2006

    • Barbie and Ken get back together
    • Barbie becomes a zoologist

    2005

    Barbie wins American Idol!

    2004

    • Barbie splits from long term boyfriend, Ken
    • Barbie becomes a presidential candidate once again

    2003

    • Barbie becomes a movie producer
    • Saudi Arabia makes the sale of Barbie dolls illegal, saying that she does not conform to the ideals of Islam

    2002

    Barbie is an Olympic ice skater again

    2000

    • Barbie spends some time in bootcamp
    • Barbie is a paratrooper
    • Barbie is a pediatrician again
    • Barbie becomes President!
    • Barbie is an art teacher

    1999

    • Stepping up her career in commercial airlines, Barbie becomes a pilot
    • Barbie is a business woman once more
    • Barbie learns sign language and uses her teaching training to become a teacher for the deaf
    • Younger sibling Krissy arrives
    • Barbie is once again inspiration for art, albeit dark, in a series of photography by Tom Forsythe depicting Barbie in a blender
    • Barbie takes up sport and becomes a professional baseball player
    • Barbie cameos in the movie Toy Story 2

    1998

    • Barbie learns to be a race car driver and enters the Indy 500
    • Barbie joins the Women's National Basketball Association

    1997

    • Barbie becomes a dentist
    • Barbie undergoes some bodily changes, gaining inches around her waist and losing them from her bust
    • Barbie is bi-lingual. She has now learned Spanish
    • Barbie's first designer clothing boutique opens
    • Danish pop group Aqua release a song named Barbie Girl

    1995-1996

    Barbie spends a couple of years focusing on teaching

    1995

    Little sister, Kelly, arrives

    1994

    • Barbie is a Thunderbird Squadron Leader in the airforce
    • Barbie goes to space again in a new astronaut suit
    • Barbie turns her medical skills to children, as a pediatrician
    • Barbie's love of animals inspires her to become a vet
    • Barbie is a firefighter

    1993

    • Barbie is a police officer
    • Combining her experience in the forces and her medical training, Barbie becomes a medical seargeant in the army

    1992

    • Barbie becomes a Presidential Candidate
    • Barbie breaks records with hair reaching all the way down to her toes.
    • This was the best selling Barbie ever.
    • Back to business matters for Barbie
    • There is another sibling for Barbie, with Stacy
    • Teen Barbie talks, with a voice box and proclaims "Math class is tough!"
    • Barbie goes back to teaching

    1991

    Barbie goes to sea as a petty officer in the Navy

    1990

    • Barbie is a figure skater with the ice capades
    • Barbie becomes a captain in the Air Force
    • Barbie works at the Embassy as a Summit Diplomat

    1989

    • Barbie officially enlists in the Army in support of the Gulf War
    • Barbie is a UNICEF Ambassador
    • Barbie's cousin Jazzie arrives

    1988

    Back to hospital, with Doctor Barbie

    1986

    • Barbie is an astronaut and visits the moon
    • Barbie becomes a rock chick, and starts her own rock band

    1985

    • Barbie is a high powered business executive
    • Barbie is a muse for the artist Andy Warhol, who paints her
    • Barbie is an elementary school teacher

    1983

    Barbie is a professional pianist

    1978

    • Barbie get a job in an office
    • Barbie is a business executive, with a hectic schedule

    1975

    • Barbie is a figure skater
    • Barbie wins several gold medals at the Olympics, in figure skating, gymnastics and skiing

    1974

    An area of Times Square in New York City was temporarily named Barbie Boulevard

    1973

    Barbie becomes a surgeon

    1971

    Barbie goes to Malibu and sports a new look

    1967

    Barbie gains a twistable waist, letting her take part in the popular dance trend of the times

    1966

    • Barbie's younger twin siblings, Tutti and Todd arrive.
    • Barbie's cousin Francie is introduced.
    • It is back to the job of air hostess for Barbie, this time for Pan Am airlines.

    1965

    Barbie goes to college
    Barbie is a student teacher
    Barbie is an astronaut, and the first woman to go into space

    1964

    Barbie's little sister, Skipper, arrives

    1963

    Barbie graduates from Willows High School, Wisconson

    1962

    Barbie attends Manhattan International High School in New York City

    1961

    • Barbie meets, and falls in love with Ken Carson
    • Barbie is a ballerina, and dances the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy in
    • The Nutcracker Suite
    • Barbie is a singer
    • Barbie is a registered nurse
    • Barbie is an airline hostess for American Airlines

    1960-1969

    Barbie's life is serialized in a range of books

    1960

    Barbie is a fashion designer

    1959

    • March 9th 1959: Barbie is launched at the American International Toy Fair in New York
    • Barbie is a teen fashion model
    • Approximately 350,000 Barbies are sold in her launch year