Entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker has just been added to Mattel’s “Inspiring Women” Signature Barbie Doll collection.
The Barbie Inspiring Women Series pays tribute to incredible heroines of their time; courageous women who took risks, changed rules and paved the way for generations of girls to dream bigger than ever before. Madam C. J. Walker was born Sarah Breedlove in 1867 on a Delta, Louisiana cotton plantation. The daughter of parents who were formerly enslaved and became sharecroppers, Walker would become a successful entrepreneur and the nation’s first documented self-made female millionaire. Barbie honors her unflinching determination with a collectible doll, sculpted to her likeness. (Mattel, 2022)
View the resources below to learn more about the life and legacy of America’s first self-made female millionaire.
Web Links
- Barbie Signature: Inspiring Women Series (Mattel Creations)
- Madam C.J. Walker (Biography)
- Madam C.J. Walker, America’s First Female Self-Made Millionaire, Is Now a Barbie (CNN)
- Madam Walker, the First Black American Woman to Be a Self-Made Millionaire (PBS)
- Madam C.J. Walker, the First U.S. Self-Made Female Millionaire, Gets Her Own Barbie (NPR)
Library Resources
- How Madam C.J. Walker Built Racial Equity into Her Business—Harvard Business Review (Business Source Complete)
- Madam C. J. Walker (Credo Reference)
Videos
