Laverne Cox Now Has Her Own Barbie

She hopes 'kids of all gender identities can look at this Barbie and dream'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 27, 2022 4:14 AM CDT
Laverne Cox Now Has Her Own Barbie
Laverne Cox attends her "A Very Barbie Birthday" celebration at Magic Hour at The Moxy Hotel Rooftop on Thursday, May 26, 2022, in New York.   (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Laverne Cox says that as a child, she was shamed for wanting a Barbie. Now, just ahead of her 50th birthday, one has been made in her likeness—a first for a transgender woman. Mattel worked closely with the trans activist and Orange Is the New Black star on the doll, reports the BBC. "It's been a dream for years to work with Barbie to create my own doll," Cox said in a statement, per ABC. "I can’t wait for fans to find my doll on shelves and have the opportunity to add a Barbie doll modeled after a transgender person to their collection."

The doll wears a gown in Cox's favorite color, oxblood red, over a bodysuit in a layered look that can be refashioned into many different outfits. "I love her outfit," Cox tells People. "What excites me most about her being out in the world is that trans young people can see her and maybe get to purchase her and play with her, and know that there's a Barbie made by Mattel, for the first time, in the likeness of a trans person." She says she hopes "kids of all gender identities can look at this Barbie and dream."

Cox says she begged her mother for a Barbie as a child but "she said no because I was assigned male at birth." But "when I was in my 30s, I was in therapy and telling my therapist that I was denied the opportunity to play with Barbie dolls," Cox says. "And my therapist said, 'It's never too late to have a happy childhood, and what you should do for your inner child is go out and buy yourself a Barbie doll.'" In a statement, Mattel said it is "committed to continuing to increase diversity across collections, so that more people can see themselves reflected." (More Barbie stories.)

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