Ruth Handler: Co-founder of Mattel and Inventor of Barbie
Business Owner · Toys & Games
Ruth Handler invented the Barbie doll in 1959 and co-founded Mattel, serving as president until 1975, when she and her husband resigned after an SEC investigation.
About Ruth Handler: Co-founder of Mattel and Inventor of Barbie
Ruth Marianna Handler (born Ruth Mosko on November 4, 1916, in Denver, Colorado; died April 27, 2002) was an American business magnate and inventor, best known for inventing the Barbie doll in 1959 and for co-founding the toy manufacturer Mattel with her husband Elliot, serving as the company's first president from 1945 to 1975. The Handlers were forced to resign from Mattel in 1975 after the Securities and Exchange Commission investigated the company for falsifying financial documents. Handler was prominently characterized in the 2023 film Barbie. She was the youngest of ten children of Polish-Jewish immigrants Jacob Moskowicz, a blacksmith, and Ida Rubenstein Moskowicz. At six months old her parents sent her to live with her older sister Sarah, with whom she stayed until she was 19, developing an enthusiasm for business while working at Sarah's drugstore and soda fountain. In 1932 she fell in love with Izzy Handler, an art student; one summer during her sophomore year at the University of Denver she went to Los Angeles and landed a job at Paramount Studio. Ruth and Izzy married in 1938 in Denver, and back in California she encouraged her husband to go by his middle name, Elliot. Sources: English Wikipedia (Ruth Handler, accessed September 2026).
Basic Information
Co-founder of Mattel; inventor of the Barbie doll (1916-2002)
Company Details
Mattel, Inc.
Toys, Consumer Products
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