Renée Rosen Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

Interview

A conversation with the author about her book, Let's Call Her Barbie.

A lot of readers might assume that you decided to write this book in reaction to the Barbiemania that took hold alongside the Barbie movie, but in truth, you've been wanting to tell the Barbie story for quite some time. Can you explain where you got the inspiration?

The idea to write a novel about the creation of Barbie had been percolating in my mind since 2019. Right before Park Avenue Summer was published, I was introduced to someone in Mattel's doll division who told me the story of Ruth Handler, and I immediately got goose bumps.

With a little more research on my own, I learned that Ruth was only part of the Barbie story, and I knew without a doubt that this had the makings of a novel. At the time, however, I had two other books, The Social Graces and Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl, which would have to come first, but Barbie was always there in the back of my mind, and I was champing at the bit to get to it.

So, did the movie's success influence your book at all? And what did the timing of the movie do to your own publishing plans?

The movie had zero influence on the writing other than having me change a line where my Ruth uttered the same words at Rhea Perlman: "I am Mattel." But otherwise, my novel was already pretty far ...