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Yara Shahidi, Naomi Osaka Getting Barbie Dolls Made in Their Images for Role Model Campaign

Posted byBy Daryl Nelson | Published on: | Updated on March 8, 2019 CommentsComments (0)

“Grown-ish” actress Yara Shahidi and tennis star Naomi Osaka now have their own Barbie Doll to celebrate Barbie’s 60th birthday this year. There will be other dolls rolled out as well, from 20 different countries, as part of Mattel’s “Sheroes” collection, which will coincide with International Women’s Day on March 8.

Each doll will be made after different female role models, and Shahidi’s Barbie has a curly hairdo, a gray suit, with a “Vote” T-shirt that was inspired by an outfit she wore at We Vote Next Summit in 2018.

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Meanwhile, Osaka’s doll sports a full tennis outfit, visor and holds a racket. And another Barbie was made after Adwoa Aboah, a British model who started an online community called Gurls Talk, where women discuss topics such as relationships, mental health, self-care, and education.

Shahidi posted a photo of her doll on Instagram and said how appreciative she is to have one made in her likeness.

“I’m honored to be repping all the young ones as a Barbie Role Model☀️Let’s continue to inspire the next generation and each other⭐️” she wrote on Wednesday. “We need your voices and are watching you all Blossom and shine! #YouCanBeAnything#Barbie60 #barbie.”

Osaka also expressed gratitude.

“It’s a really big honor,” she told PEOPLE earlier this week. “I’ve played with Barbies when I was a kid, and I think it’s a bit of a surreal experience to have the opportunity to have a Barbie that looks like me.”

On top of the doll rollout, Mattel will donate $1 for every doll sold to the Dream Gap Project, an initiative which supports “like-minded organizations” that help remove some of obstacles that prevent girls from achieving.

Osaka said she’s hopeful the doll will truly inspire young girls, especially in the sports world.

“In athletics they have this statistic that girls drop out of sports quicker than boys, and for me I feel sad hearing that because of course I’m a professional athlete,” she explained. “I hope that girls feel inspired, and I hope they somehow see a lot of possibilities when they look at all the dolls.”

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