About Ruth Handler: Ruth Marianna Handler is best remembered for inventing the Barbie doll.
It's the degree of success and the length of time that is amazing.
Through their play Barbara imagined their lives as adults. They used the dolls to reflect the adult world around them. They would sit and carry on conversations, making the dolls real people.
It took us three years to even come close to catching up with the demand a little bit.
I did not think this doll could ever be this huge.
I thought the Barbie doll would always be successful.
We didn't know how to run a business, but we had dreams and talent.
They were using the dolls to project their dreams of their own futures as adult women.
I wasn't a financial pro, and I paid the price.
