Behind two of the world’s most famous dolls are two remarkable women. Here is their story.
Quick answer
Women inventors shaped the toys we love. Allison Katzman designed Blythe in 1972 and Ruth Handler created Barbie in 1959. Both turned a simple idea into an icon, and their stories still inspire makers and collectors today.
Women inventors have shaped the toys we love more than most people realise. Two of the most famous dolls in the world, Blythe and Barbie, were created by women. This tribute celebrates Allison Katzman, the designer behind Blythe, and the wider legacy of women in toy design.
Allison Katzman was a toy designer who spent more than 50 years designing toys in Chicago, including for the famous firm Marvin Glass and Associates. According to her family’s published obituary, she held more than 30 design patents, and Blythe, with her colour-changing eye mechanism, was one of her best-known designs.
Kenner released Blythe in 1972. She lasted only about a year on shelves, but decades later she became one of the most loved collector dolls in the world. Allison Katzman passed away in 2020, at the age of 95, having seen her “failed” doll become a worldwide favourite. Read her full story in who created Blythe.
Barbie, launched in 1959, was the idea of Ruth Handler, a co-founder of Mattel. She wanted a doll that let girls imagine their grown-up futures. You can read more in Ruth Handler’s biography, and see how the two dolls compare in Blythe vs Barbie, Labubu, Pullip and BJD.
Feeling inspired? Try designing a doll of your own in our build-your-own Blythe studio, or explore the Blythe doll timeline.
Read more about the women behind Blythe.
With love, This Is Blythe Team
Say hello to Jenna Anderson — our Customer Happiness Director and resident Blythe doll devotee. Affectionately known around the studio as the “Blythe Whisperer,” Jenna spends her days helping collectors find the doll that feels unmistakably theirs, and her evenings writing the stories you read here. Her warmth, eye for detail, and genuine love of these big-eyed characters make her the heart of the This Is Blythe community.
When she steps away from the inbox, you'll find her sewing tiny doll-sized accessories, behind a camera, or lost in some new arts-and-crafts project — the same curiosity and care she pours into every doll. Read more about Jenna's journey into the world of Blythe here.
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