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Mattel Introduces Barbie Modeled After Mindy Kaling

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Barbie dolls based on characters of Mindy Kaling, Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon in A Wrinkle in Time.

Mattel has revealed the first look of the doll-sized versions of Indian American actor Mindy Kaling, Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon. The dolls have been fashioned after their characters in the Disney movie A Wrinkle in Time. The Barbie dolls are Mrs Who, Mrs Which and Mrs Whatsit played by the actors respectively.

Mattel has described the dolls as “three powerful women warriors made of stardust, each with a special role in [13-year-old heroine] Meg’s journey to find her missing father.”

Mrs Who, played by Kaling, is described to be eccentric while she uses her diamond spectacles to see things otherwise hidden to the eye. The Indian American actor responded to the news of a doll in her likeness by posting celebratory emojis on her Twitter.

The actor also expressed her happiness on Instagram.

Fans of the actor are overjoyed. “An Indian barbie. An Indian barbie who’s not wearing the god awful saris that Mattel always put them in,” tweeted one fan. “Injection-molded plastic never looked so good,” posted another.

Ava DuVernay, the director of the movie A Wrinkle In Time, wrote on Twitter: “When Disney makes Barbies of your movie’s characters, you just want to stare at them all day in disbelief because you loved Barbies as a girl but never had any like these.”

Mindy Kaling arrives for the PaleyFest Fall Preview – ‘The Mindy Project’ on September 8, 2017 in Beverly Hills, CA

DuVernay was pointing at the fact that Mattel has made a conscious effort for including greater representation of people of color by diversifying its toyline with Barbies bearing likeness to Oprah and Kaling. This is also evident in the Shero series that includes Barbies inspired from women who “break barriers and expand possibilities for women everywhere” such as ballet dancer Misty Copeland, 5-year-old fashion designer Sydney Keiser, plus-size model Ashley Graham and Olympian Ibtihaj Muhammad. The doll made in likeness of Muhammad is the first time Barbie wore a hijab. Incidentally, DuVernay also has a Barbie in her likeness as part of the Shero series in 2015.

The latest doll is the first Barbie made in Kaling’s likeness. This comes on the heels of Kaling ranking third on the Forbes’ list of highest paid television actresses in 2017, and being among the 10 highest paid TV actresses since 2014.

Kaling is also set to appear in Ocean’s 8 — an all-woman heist movie — this year.

Reese Witherspoon also displayed her excitement on Twitter, calling it a “childhood dream come true.” This is the second time a Barbie has been modeled after her.

This is the second time for Oprah Winfrey as well. She had revealed her first doll in a Twitter post in 2016, with the doll modeled after DuVernay.

All three dolls, available for pre-order at $50 each, will be up on shelves from Feb. 23. The fantasy film A Wrinkle in Time hits theaters on March 9. The film is an adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s Newbery Medal-winning children’s book of the same name.

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