Barbie's 'Role Model' Collection Celebrates Female Friendship: Mattel

For International Women's Day this year, toy manufacturing giant Mattel will launch eight new Barbie dolls on March 8, honouring female leaders across various fields. The limited-edition 'Role Model' collection is a celebration of female friendship, the creators said in a post on Instagram. "Some of the greatest gifts of girlhood are the friendships that uplift and show us that no matter how big our dreams, together we can achieve anything.​ Today we’re spotlighting four duos of new Barbie Role Models, whose real-life friendships prove just that," the caption read.

Barbie's Iconic Duos

Barbie's official Instagram page shared a photo of the four iconic female pairs that are being launched as dolls on Women's Day. These include Olympic gymnasts Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey, British actresses Hannah Waddingham and Juno Temple, Australian tennis icons Evonne Goolagong Cawley and Ash Barty, and Brazilian disability activists Paola Antonini and Kelen Ferreira.

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Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey are featured in their leotards from the 2024 Paris Olympics, celebrating their individual wins as well as their friendship. The gymnasts were part of the US team that won gold at the Games. Chiles also won a silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Meanwhile, Carey won gold in floor exercise in 2020 and a bronze medal in vault in 2024.

Hannah Waddingham and Juno Temple are also dressed in their best known red carpet looks. Waddingham's doll replicates her 2024 SAG Awards red gown and carries the iconic cardboard purse made by her toddler daughter. Temple's doll is dressed in an orange gown that she wore to the 2024 Emmy Awards. The duo became friends while working on the show Ted Lasso.

Evonne Goolagong Cawley and Ash Barty are dressed in their tennis best, with a trophy and a racquet in hand. They became "immediate friends" after their first meeting at the 2011 Junior Wimbledon. Cawley, who has numerous Grand Slam titles, reportedly trained Barty, who later won three Grand Slam singles. Cawley handed Barty the Australian Open trophy in 2022.

The Paola Antonini and Kelen Ferreira dolls are seen in black and pink dresses with pink prosthetic limbs. Antonini lost part of her left leg in a car crash in 2014. Ferreira, who survived the ill-fated 2013 Kiss nightclub fire, was severely burned and lost most of her right leg. They met when Antonini played Ferreira's role in The Endless Night, a drama based on real-life events.