In 1959, Ruth Handler introduced the world to Barbie. Credit: Warner Bros. Rhea Perlman in "Barbie." Credit: Screenshot Warner Bros. Barbie first meets Ruth while she's trying to escape from ...

Ruth Handler, who co-founded Mattel with her husband, Elliot Handler, and Harold Matson in 1945, noticed her daughter, Barbara, playing with paper dolls and dreaming about what kind of woman she ...