Katrina Rees
Olympic gold medallist Gabby Douglas’ very own Barbie Doll is now available to purchase.
Back in 2016, Gabby was awarded a special Shero Barbie in honour of her incredible gymnastic achievements. She is the first African American / the first of African descent of any nationality in Olympic history to become the individual all-around champions, having won gold at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
We're excited to honor the inspirational @gabrielledoug w/ a one-of-a-kind #Barbie doll! #YouCanBeAnything #Sherohttps://t.co/bckoJvRRqm
— Barbie (@Barbie) July 11, 2016
Up until now, the Barbie doll was a one-of-a-kind. However, after almost a year since she was gifted her doll, the Gabby Douglas Shero Barbie is now available to buy.
Speaking to HuffPost, Gabby said: “I’m super honored to be a part of the ‘Shero’ collection. I hope through my partnership with Barbie that I can continue to inspire boys and girls to strive for their own dreams and their own passions.”
Dressed in a Team USA leotard, teamed up with a removable pink and black Nike tracksuit, Gabby revealed that she worked closely with Barbie to ensure the design of the doll was accurate. “It’s so important in the African American community to have that doll that looks like you. For me that’s really big because it sends a positive message saying, you know what you can go out there and achieve your goals no matter what your hair looks like, no matter what color your skin is.”
The gymnast, who was part of the Final Five at the Rio 2016 Olympics, is the latest star to be created into a doll for the Shero Barbie range, which is part of Mattel’s You Can Be Anything campaign.
The Shero Barbies are based on “female heroes who inspire girls by breaking boundaries and expanding possibilities for women everywhere.” Other dolls in the range include Ava DuVernay, Emmy Rossum, Sydney ‘Mayhem’ Keiser, Eva Chen, Misty Copeland, Kristin Chenoweth and Trisha Yearwood.
Gabby Douglas’ Shero Barbie is available now.
