Barbie Doll Inventor at Center of Biopic DREAM DOLL Film in Development
We’ve got word of an upcoming biopic based on the life of Ruth Handler, the creator of the one and only Barbie doll. The film is being developed by Bron Studios, Rita Wilson, and Rare Bird Films. Oscar-nominated screenwriter Melisa Wallack (Dallas Buyers Club) is writing the script, which is an adaptation of the 1995 memoir Dream Doll: The Ruth Handler Story. Here’s the description from Variety:
The film will chronicle the life of Handler as she founded Mattel in 1945 and created the now-iconic Barbie doll, named after her daughter Barbara, in 1959. Handler was one of the first women to run a Fortune 500 company. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1970 and died in 2002.
It is pretty interesting that practically everyone knows what the Barbie doll is, but the incredible woman who created it is pretty much a mystery. It will be interesting to hear her story, and learn of the creative and industrious life of Ruth Handler. I collected and played with Barbies as a kid, and I think it will be really fun to learn the history of the person who made it happen. Are you interested in this story?