The doll's origin story is chronicled in the documentary “Black Barbie” (streaming now on Netflix), which examines the far-reaching impact of representation. Join our Watch Party!

In the film, Perkins recalls explaining why Black dolls needed to simply be Barbie’s friends and not also her hired help. After Perkins stepped down in 2003, successor Stacey McBride-Irby drove ...

In 1960 or 1961, she encouraged Mattel founder Ruth Handler to create a Black Barbie doll — an “act of revolution,” UCLA professor Patricia A. Turner says in the documentary.

The newly released documentary takes a deeper look at the story behind the first Black Barbie and its impact on representation in the toy business, and culture more broadly. CNN values your ...

By the documentary’s end, it’s still grappling with the idea that Black Barbie is in second place behind blonde-haired, blue-eyed Malibu Barbie—which only makes the documentary richer. Our ...

Netflix released Black Barbie: A Documentary on Wednesday, June 19, 2024. It takes viewers back in time to the creation of the first Black Barbie doll at Mattel.

Black Barbie: A Documentary (2023) Film Review from the 30th Annual South by Southwest Film Festival, a movie written and directed by Lagueria Davis and starring Monica L. Bailey, Raj Brown ...

The “Black Barbie” documentary comes amid the Barbie boom, as Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie’s live-action movie filled theaters to the tune of $1.4 billion and counting.

(CNN) — In the first few minutes of her new documentary film, the writer and director Lagueria Davis pays a visit to her aunt, Beulah Mitchell. At Mitchell’s house, they look through a room filled ...

By Kaila Nichols, CNN (CNN) — In the first few minutes of her new documentary film, the writer and director Lagueria Davis pays a visit to her aunt, Beulah Mitchell. At Mitchell’s house, they ...

(CNN) — In the first few minutes of her new documentary film, the writer and director Lagueria Davis pays a visit to her aunt, Beulah Mitchell. At Mitchell’s house, they look through a room ...