Ruth Handler is best known for inventing the Barbie doll in 1959 and serving as the first president of Mattel, a company she co-founded with her husband Elliot Handler, from 1945 to 1973.

Wearing a black and white zebra-print swimming costume, shoppers could buy either a blonde or brunette version of the doll. Barbie was invented by American business woman, and mother, Ruth Handler.

Ruth Handler, Mattel Inc. co-founder and inventor of the Barbie Doll, displays the special 40th anniversary Barbie at a press conference on Feb. 7, 1999, in New York. Jill Barad, left, chief ...

Barbie is letting "You Create" your own doll for the first-time ever. To celebrate the 15th anniversary of Barbie Basics, a line of collector's edition Barbie dolls, the dollmaker is releasing a ...