Laverne Cox Makes History As Mattel’s First Ever Transgender Barbie

Laverne Cox is making history in the LGBTQ community as Mattel’s first-ever transgender Barbie! What a great birthday gift for her since she is turning the big 50 this Sunday May 29. She expressed her excitement, what it means to the LGBTQ community and her involvement in the creation of the doll.

“I can’t believe it. I love her outfit. 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…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.”

“I think in an environment where trans children have been used as a political football, when over 250 pieces of anti-trans legislation have been introduced in state legislatures all over the country in 2022 alone, and access to gender-affirming healthcare has been denied by policies signed into law in my home state of Alabama, in Arkansas and other states..”

“That in this environment where trans kids are being attacked, that this can also be a celebration of transness, and also a space for them to dream, understand and be reminded that trans is beautiful. That there’s hope and possibility for them to be themselves.”

“can we make her look more like me’ and to be more African American….And we had a conversation about highlights and lowlights because I’m blonde most of the time now, but I’m a Black girl, so I need a dark root.”

As a child, Laverne Cox says her mother didn’t allow her to play with Barbie dolls because she ‘was a male at birth.’ She explained,

“I played with my Barbie, and I told my mom what my therapist had said. And that first Christmas after that, my mom sent me a Barbie doll. And she’s been sending me Barbies for Christmas and for my birthday…I’m just so grateful that I’ve been able to be in this process. It’s a process of reclaiming my inner child, healing her, giving her what she didn’t have the first go-round.”

Laverne joins Zendaya, Yara Shahidi, Oprah and Brandy to name a few celebrities that have been given their very own Barbie.