Katherine Johnson Barbie

A lovely image of NASA Mathematician and Physicist, Katherine Johnson appears on the back of the Katherine Johnson Barbie's box.

Part of the Barbie Inspiring Women series, the Katherine Johnson Barbie ordered from Barbie.Mattel dot com has yet to arrive, but the one ordered later at a reduced price from Amazon arrived last week. In spite of the reused head sculpt that originated with Byron Lars' Mbili that has been used for multiple others, including the So In Style doll line, the 1950s-inspired hairdo and the cat-eye eyeglasses add to the Katherine Johnson Barbie's authentic look. The complexion is appropriate as well.  The Barbie.Mattel website indicates the doll was designed by Kelley Lindberg and that the face sculpt is the Model of the Moment Nichelle sculpt.  The latter is incorrect.  As I have indicated, the doll definitely uses the Mbili sculpt.

My doll's shipping box appeared tampered with.

The shipping tape on both the top and bottom of my doll's shipping box had been slit as though someone had attempted to open it.  Before opening the box myself, I heard something rattling around inside.  After opening, I discovered what has become the norm for Amazon:  no protective packing materials were added to the box; the boxed doll was inside the otherwise empty shipping box!  Someone really needs to school those people in proper packing procedures.



The rattling I heard was the doll's eyeglasses.  They had fallen to the bottom of the box.  Initially, I had not planned to open the doll's box, but I had to get the glasses.  I made a slit in the tape that held the plastic tab in place on the top of the box, opened the plastic flap, turned the box upside down, and the glasses slid into my hand.

Katherine Johnson Barbie was photographed before retrieving her eyeglasses.  The backdrop of the box is a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) lab setting in which several white males are seated at desks.

Before retrieving the eyeglasses, I took the above and next few photos of the doll's box.

Side panel

The side panels are identical with a purple and lavender design and Ms. Johnson's signature inside a gold circle.

The back panel of the box

The back panel of the box features a photo of Ms. Johson above her signature and NASA title.  Indicating she is still alive, her year of birth (1918) - present are below her title.  A quote from Ms. Johnson reads:

With her glasses on, she looks more like the remarkable woman she represents.

Katherine Johnson Barbie has black rooted hair with flipped ends.  The production doll's hair is longer and styled a little different than the prototype's.  Her eyes are light brown.  She is dressed in a short-sleeve pink dress that has a pleated skirt, a white collar, white three-button placket, and black ribbon belt.  She wears pearl stud earrings and a two-string pearl necklace.

A spacecraft decal is on the lapel of one collar of the doll's dress and she wears a photo ID necklace.

A pair of black ankle-strap high-heel shoes completes the Katherine Johnson Barbie's fashion.

As the final paragraph of the back-of-box text indicates, Katherine Johnson Barbie Doll celebrates the achievements of a pioneer who broke through barriers of race and gender.  Like the trajectories she calculated, her contributions inspire young people to excel in math and science and to reach for the stars.


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