Laverne Cox just made history. The “Orange is the New Black” star and LGBTQ advocate is the inspiration for a new Barbie, Mattel’s first-ever transgender doll.
In recent years, Mattel has focused on making their Barbies as inclusive and diverse as ever, from creating Barbies that use hearing aids and wheelchairs to Barbies with vitiligo and Barbies without hair. But, this is the first time Mattel has ever created a transgender Barbie.
“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,” Cox said in a statement, according to NBC News.
You can purchase the Laverne Cox-inspired Barbie Doll online at Mattel’s website right now. The doll, which Cox helped to design, is $40.
The “Inventing Anna” star never was allowed to play with Barbies, as Cox explained to People in an interview.
“I begged my mother for a Barbie doll and she said no because I was assigned male at birth,” Cox explains. “And when I was in my 30s, I was in therapy and telling my therapist that I was denied the opportunity to play with Barbie dolls. And my therapist said, ‘It’s never too late to have a happy childhood, and what you should do for your inner child is go out and buy yourself a Barbie doll.'”
Cox told People she was “very involved” in the design of the new doll, including the Barbie’s unique outfit. The doll comes with an oxblood corset and tulle skirt, which can be pulled away to reveal another outfit underneath — a sparkly silver-white bodysuit.
“Her hair is swept into glamorous Hollywood waves while dramatic makeup completes her look,” Mattel’s description of the doll says.
Cox is used to firsts in her career: The actress and Emmy-winning producer was the first openly transgender person to be nominated for an acting category, and she also became the first openly transgender woman to win an Emmy, for her role as an executive producer on “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word.”
“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,” Cox told People.
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