Top 10 Celebrity-Inspired Barbie Dolls

Zendaya has stated that when she was a kid, she had a hard time finding “a Barbie that looked like [her]”. Well, since 2015 that has no longer been a problem, because that’s when her own Barbie doll was released. And not only did Barbie put out a Zendaya doll, but they designed it based on the actress’ beautiful 2015 Oscar look. This was a look that saw her in a stunning white dress and dreadlocks, and the creators of her doll paid close attention to absolutely every detail, right down to the delicate ring she wore on her pinky.

In 2015, Misty Copeland became the first African American woman to be named principal dancer of the famed American Ballet Theatre. The year after in 2016, Copeland got her own Barbie doll. The Copeland doll was part of the company’s “Sheroes” program and is all about “honoring female heroes who inspire girls by breaking boundaries and expanding possibilities for women everywhere.” If Misty Copeland isn’t breaking boundaries then we don’t know who is. Copeland’s Barbie sees her in a bright red unitard as she wore in “The Firebird” ballet - her first principal performance for the ABT.

Grace Kelly was a beautiful and talented actress who became Hollywood royalty in the first half of the 1950s and actual royalty in the second. Between 1951 and 1956 Kelly rose to stardom with roles in a number of great films, from “Rear Window” to “To Catch a Thief”. However, her acting career came to a pretty abrupt halt when, in 1956, she married Prince Rainier III - the prince of Monaco. In the 2010s, Mattel added Kelly to the Barbie family with, not one, but 4 dolls - each representing a different moment in her life. There’s Kelly from her movies, Kelly on her wedding day, and a version in the same outfit she was wearing the first time she met the Prince.

Since 2002, it’s been getting harder and harder to think of Jennifer Lopez as just Jenny from the block. But if her rocks didn’t fool you, then maybe the two Barbie dolls Mattel made of her in 2013 won’t either. The company put out two different JLo Barbies - and no, neither of them featured the famous green dress look. Instead, they went with “Red Carpet” and “World Tour” iterations - the latter of which replicated an outfit from her “Dance Again World Tour” and the former of which featured the outfit Lopez wore to the 2012 Oscars. While we don’t know exactly how much they go for these days, we’re pretty sure that, unlike her love, the dolls do cost something.

As iconic as Barbie is, she’s also been the target for many who’ve argued that the doll’s dimensions provide an unreasonable body image. In fact, it’s been written that the classic Barbie measurements, were they to be extrapolated to an actual human being, would be wildly disproportionate and in fact, impossible. Real Barbie would be 110 pounds, 5’9, have a 39-inch bust, an 18-inch waist, and 33-inch hips… she’d also be a size 3 shoe. While Ashley Graham stands at the same height as this humanized Barbie, her measurements are far more realistic. The supermodel was adamant that her Barbie be true to her - she even wanted the doll to have cellulite, but it was too hard to produce with the plastic mold. Either way, this is a win!

Laverne Cox has had a lot of “firsts” in her career. Cox was the first transgender person to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy acting award. She was also the first transgender person to appear on the cover of Time and Cosmopolitan magazines, and she’s made history as the first openly trans person to have a wax figure at Madame Tussauds. In 2022, she added yet another trailblazing first to her list when she became the first trans Barbie. The honor, like the other milestones in her career, is one that she hopes will uplift and inspire the people watching her.

If you could turn back time, you could go back to 2007 and be there for the launch of the Black Label ‘80s Cher Bob Mackie Barbie Doll. The one wearing the - controversial at the time - “suggestive” outfit that comes from the “If I Could Turn Back Time” music video. While that one seems to be the most popular, Mattel has actually produced four Cher Barbies over the years - one in 2001 and three (including the Bob Mackie one) in 2007. If Etsy and Ebay are to be believed, these are pretty “rare finds” and worth multiple hundreds of dollars.

Given Audrey Hepburn’s famed beauty and grace we would’ve thought she’d had her own Barbie but, actually, the doll is one of her iconic characters. We’ll give you one guess. It’s the obvious choice and Mattel must have thought so too when they released the Barbie in 1998. Two of Holly Golightly’s looks were immortalized: the black dress with the pearls and the pink coat and dress ensemble. Both can still be found online, and you can expect to pay upwards of $100. While that isn’t exactly cheap, it’s less than pretty much anything you can get at Tiffany’s.

When it comes to female celebrities there might not be a more indelible pop culture figure than Marilyn Monroe. So, it only makes sense that there would be a Barbie doll modeled after the late Hollywood starlet. But, there isn’t just one Monroe Barbie, there are at least eight of them. From her red carpet stunners to the pretty-in-pink outfit in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” to her wind-caught white dress in “The Seven Year Itch”, you can find nearly all of her classic looks immortalized in doll form. There’s even a “How to Marry a Millionaire” version - but thankfully, you don’t have to be a millionaire to afford it.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Frida Kahlo
From the “Inspiring Women” Series of Barbies

Gabby Douglas
She Has a Barbie Doll to Go Along with Her Three Olympic Gold Medals

Naomi Osaka
Part of the “Role Models” Series

Katy Perry
We Love That They Chose to Put Her in the Cupcake Dress

Nicki Minaj
Her “Barbie Dreams” Became a Reality in 2011

Fans of Barbie and Destiny's Child were “Jumpin’ Jumpin’” back in 2005 when Mattel released a trio of dolls inspired by the group. Each of the Independent Women had their own doll, however Beyoncé’s was the only one that was custom sculpted to resemble her - whereas Kelly and Michelle’s dolls used faces the company already had on hand. We’re guessing it isn’t a coincidence that Beyoncé's father, Mathew Knowles, was the person who oversaw the creation of the dolls. These days a mint-condition Beyoncé will probably run you over 100 dollar “Bills, Bills, Bills,” while the trio has been seen to come in at over $200.