Viola Davis, Helen Mirren, Shania Twain, Kylie Minogue get own Barbies
As “Barbie” fever rolls into Oscar weekend — with Greta Gerwig's blockbuster film up for eight awards — Mattel has unveiled its new slate of Role Mole Dolls, featuring two Academy Awards winners, a Canadian-born country queen and an Australian dance music diva.
To celebrate International Women's Day on Friday and the iconic doll's 65th birthday Saturday, the toy company announced Wednesday that it's adding new dolls modeled after Viola Davis, Dame Helen Mirren, Shania Twain and Kylie Minogue to its cannon.
However, the one-of-akind dolls are not for sale and were instead gifted to each woman to honor their achievements and contributions to the world.
Davis, 58, the only EGOT recipient (winner of an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award) and American-born among the new crop of role models, said she “wanted this Barbie to make little 6-yearold Viola squeal.
“It is my biggest gift to her … my lifelong mission and legacy to make her feel pretty, seen and worthy,” said the L'Oreal spokeswoman, whose abusive and poverty-stricken childhood was documented in her noholds-barred “Finding Me” memoir that topped the New York Times bestsellers list in 2022.
Mirren, another acclaimed Oscar winner and L'Oreal spokesperson, said she was “absolutely blown away” after being made into a Barbie doll.
The 78-year-old actress, who just so happens to be the narrator of the “Barbie” film, said being chosen as a role model “is a huge compliment, and something I would never have imagined in my wildest dreams happening to me at this stage in my life.”
Meanwhile, country superstar Shania Twain took to social media Wednesday to share her joy over the honor.
“Pinch me!!” the 58-year-old singer-songwriter wrote in part about the doll, adorned in an all-black ensemble to emulate the look Twain wore in the 1999 music video for female empowerment anthem “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!”
Minogue also shared an image with her doll, adding the caption: “Look at Padam Barbie !!!! Baby Kylie would NOT believe this is happening right now!”