#AvaBarbie: Fans celebrate director Ava DuVernay’s Barbie doll

By Jordan Valinsky • December 7, 2015 •

Barbie can be lots of things, including, for example, a celebrated director.

Ava DuVernay, the director of the Oscar-nominated film “Selma,” is receiving an honor that so few of us could even comprehend: Mattel is having a Barbie doll made in her likeness. She tweeted this last night:

All my proceeds from #AvaBarbie will be sent from @Mattel to @ColorOfChange + @WitnessOrg. A fun way to support. xo! pic.twitter.com/O4Z5zl5els

— Ava DuVernay (@AVAETC) December 6, 2015

It was DuVernay’s social media following — she has 140,000 Twitter followers — that demanded Matel Toys to mass produce the doll, which was originally supposed to be a one-off doll to be auctioned off for charity.

The toymaker honored her and other women, including actress Emmy Rossum and Instagram’s newly installed head of fashion partnerships Eva Chen, “who have pushed boundaries and expanded possibilities for women” in an event called “Shereos.”

It was DuVernay’s doll that captured attention on Twitter and forced Mattel Toys to fast-track production of it. The brand plans to produce the other women’s dolls in the future.

The #AvaBarbie, as DuVernay is referring to it, elicited excited reaction from fans both young and old with many of them applauding the toymaker for injecting some much-needed diversity into the Barbie line.

Mattel is selling @AVAETC‘s barbie tomorrow. I’m not going to sleep and/or working until I get it. It’s not a game.

— Skiperella. (@Skiperella) December 6, 2015

In spite of the fact that I am 40ish, I will be buying an #AvaBarbie. Because…its @AVAETC! No further explanation needed!

— Dr. K. Farris (@educatedbrngirl) December 6, 2015