Barbie/Characters

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Tropes related to the Mainline Barbie dolls, Fashionistas examples go here.

Current Line

^[when?]

Barbara Millicent "Barbie" Roberts

Voiced by; Kelly Sheridan (general), Kate Higgins (Life in the Dreamhouse), America Young (Dreamhouse Adventures to present)

Portrayed by: Margot Robbie (2023 film)

• Blue Eyes
• Celebrity Star: She’s a famous actress in-universe.
• Cool Big Sis: To Skipper, Stacie, Kelly, and Krissy.
• Genius Ditz: In Life In The Dreamhouse.
• Hair of Gold:
• The Heroine
• Hidden Depths: A Fashion Fairytale shows that she’s just as human as the rest of us (But Plastic).
• Hot Scientist: Computer Engineer Barbie.
• Ms. Imagination: Quite the story teller.
• Pimped-Out Dress
  • Fairytale Wedding Dress
  • "Happy Holidays" Dress: Trope namer
• Spoiled Sweet
• Unlimited Wardrobe: It's literally small country sized in Life In The Dreamhouse.

Teresa Rivera

"I love Barbie, She's fun, generous and exactly my size."

Teresa dolls

• Attention Deficit Ooh Shiny
• Celebrity Star: A famous fashion designer.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Since ‘A Mermaid's Tale’
• Conspiracy Theorist
• The Fashionista
• Genius Ditz
• Hidden Depths: See The Smart Girl.
• The Smart Girl: May be a Cloudcuckoolander, but she has a lot of intelligence hidden under that.
• Spoiled Sweet
• Token Minority: Latina.

Nicole "Nikki" O'Neill/Watkins

"That's not a closet, it's a planet called fashion!"

• Celebrity Star: Of her own 'in the know' Vlog.
• Named by the Adaptation: Her name is changed from O'Neill to Watkins in Dreamhouse Adventures
• Sassy Black Woman: In Life in the Dreamhouse and as some of her roles in the movies. Averted in Dreamhouse Adventures.
• Token Minority

Raquelle Harper

Raquelle dolls

• Alpha Bitch: However, in Barbie: A Fairy Secret, they make up.
• Early Installment Weirdness: In The Barbie Diaries, she had reddish-blonde hair and green eyes.
• Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette
• Mistaken Nationality: A headcanon that she was a Korean with the surname "Nia Lee Kim" has lead to people being misinformed that she was Asian, even though she is (very clearly) white and always was.
• Poke the Poodle: Her evil plan is to... 'catch [Barbie] in a fashion fail and post pics on the internet'.
• Rich Bitch
• The Rival: But not the Alpha Bitch.

Ken Carson

• Butt Monkey: In A Fashion Fairytale and onward.
• Mr. Fanservice
• Perma-Shave: Usually, but "Cool Shaving Ken" from the 90's had a beard that could be removed with warm water and would eventually grow back.
  • Averted in Life In The Dreamhouse, where after waiting all day for Barbie he's grown some stubble overnight.
• Prince Charming
• Real Men Wear Pink: The one of the Ken Fashionistas.
• Surfer Dude: Professional.
• Understanding Boyfriend

Ryan Harper

• Half-Identical Twins: With Raquelle
• Mr. Fanservice
• Tall, Dark and Handsome

Grace Findley

• Cool Big Sis: Fits the archetype for Barbie and Teresa.
• The Lancer: To Barbie and Teresa’s three man band.
• Replacement Goldfish: Might be to Barbie.
• Sassy Black Woman: Averted in Life in the Dreamhouse, played straight in A Fashion Fairytale.
• Spoiled Sweet

Midge Sherwood (formerly Hadley)

• Green Eyes
• Happily Married: To Allan.
• Hot Mom
• Significant Green-Eyed Redhead: She's Irish-American.
• Race Lift: In Japan during the 60s, she was portrayed as Japanese, even wearing a kimono.
• Team Mom: Being an actual mother helps.

Allan Sherwood

• Happily Married
• Hot Dad
• The Smart Guy
• Team Dad: Being an actual Dad helps.

Steven

• The Big Guy: To Barbie’s five man band.
• Black Best Friend: For Ken.
• Mr. Fanservice
• Token Minority Couple: With Christie and currently Nikki.

Skipper Roberts

• Bookworm
• Brainy Brunette
• Brilliant but Lazy

Chelsea/Kelly Roberts

• Cloudcuckoolander
• Generic Cuteness
• Girls Love Stuffed Animals
• Girly Girl: To Stacie's tomboy.
• Retcon: She was formerly called Kelly.

Anastasia "Stacie' Roberts

• Super OCD: Stacie, with birthday parties.

Stacie: Barbie, you log in each gift, who it's from and Chelsea's emotional response.

• Tomboy and Girly Girl: To Chelsea's girly girl.

Christie O'Neill

Christie's dolls

• Token Minority: The first black doll, and also Nikki's sister.

P.J. Maybarry

• Depending on the Artist: Is her hair blonde or brown?

Miko Kalani (1980s)

• Hawaii: She's a native Hawaiian.

The Rockers/Sensations (Dana/Becky Yeosan, Dee Dee/Belinda Schwitzerson, Ophelia 'Diva/Bopsy" Butler, and Derek/Bobby)

• Adaptational Name Change: The Sensations line renames the bandmates (although in the cartoon they don't change).
• The '50s: The Sensations rebrand
• Five-Token Band: Dana is Korean, Dee Dee is black, Diva is of Scottish and Irish descent, and Derek is The One Guy.
• Expy: of Jem.

Kira Nguyen (Marina Nguyen in Europe)

Kira's dolls

• Depending on the Artist: Her eyes. Are they brown? Blue? Amber? Violet?
• Token Minority: Vietnamese.

Lea Bing

• Depending on the Artist: Often her skin is pale rather than tanned.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: She is Asian like Kira, who was largely phased out, eventually completely, by this point.
• Macau: She is from there.

Summer Gordon

Summer dolls

• Ambiguously Brown: In the Cali Girl line, although she's a surfer so she likely tans.
• Awesome Aussie: She's from Australia (although in Dreamhouse she's American).
• Passionate Sports Girl

Whitney/Laura (in Europe) MacTavish

• Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: The main brunette to Barbie's blonde and Teresa and Midge's usual redhead.

Nia Whitebird (Western Fun)

• Native Americans: Barbie's only Native friend. Though she isn't very indigenous looking.

Kayla Vanderbilt and Devon Laurel (Dance Club)

Barbie's two 80s dancer friends.

*NOTE: Kayla was brought back for the Locket Surprise line.

• Token Minority: Devon is black.

Kelley Donoghue

Barbie's Irish friend from the 70s.

• Significant Green-Eyed Redhead: An Irish girl with red hair (although she has brown eyes).

Tara Lynn (Tina in Brazil) Hoover (Western Stampin')

Barbie's cowgirl friend.

• Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: She has very pale skin and black hair
• Cowgirl: She wears a red cowgirl costume (the line is Western themed after all)
• Southern Belle

Kayla Maltby

• Ambiguously Brown: She generally has a tanned skin tone. Is she Hispanic? tanned East Asian? Southeast Asian? Indian? Mixed? Tanned white?
• Race Lift: She often gets changed. One doll she's ambiguous, another she's white blonde, black and sometimes looks Irish!

Fashion Fever

Gillian Sullivan

• Significant Green-Eyed Redhead

Desiree Dwyer

A black girl.

• Token Minority: One of the only black girls in the line.

Shannen Bayles

• Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Along with Barbie, the blonde to Gillian, and sometimes Drew's redhead, and Drew, Kayla, and Teresa's brunette.

Drew Candid

Drew dolls

• Depending on the Artist: Her hair was brown when she debuted in the Mystery Squad line, but the Fashion Fever line seemsm to change it to auburn.
• Meaningful Name: She debuted in a detective-themed line, and her name is Drew.

Modern Circle (2003)

Melody Lee-Michaels

• You Gotta Have Blue Hair: She has a blue bob.

Simone Hanson

• Token Black
• The Bus Came Back: She returns in the American Idol tie-in line/

So In Style

Grace Findley

*NOTE: She originated here.

• The Heroine
• Sassy Black Woman
• Stripperiffic: Her first outfit.

Courtney Findley

• Cheerful Child

Trichelle Mann

• The Lancer
• Sassy Black Woman

Janessa Mann

• Cheerful Child

Kara

• Alliteration: Kara & Kianna.
• Sassy Black Woman
• The Smart Girl

Kianna

• Cheerful Child
• Child Prodigy

Chandra Bennington

• The Chick
• Sassy Black Woman

Zahara Bennington

• Cheerful Child

Darren

• The Big Guy
• Expy: Of Steven.

Julian

• Cheerful Child
• Expy: Of Dajh Katzroy
• Funny Afro

Foreign-exclusive friends

Barbie's Brazilian friends (80s and 90s)

Viky Ward, Lia Douglas, and Dalma "Diva" Lancaster

• Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Diva (blonde), Lia (brunette), redhead (Viky)
• One Steve Limit: As with many dolls sharing names, Diva shares her nickname with Ophelia Butler (Rockers Diva).
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: In general, they tend to be this for characters:
• Viky Ward = Midge
• Lia Douglas = Whitney
• Dalma "Diva" Lancaster = every other Barbie friend (Christie, Teresa, Kira, one-line friends)
• Lara Scottsdale = Teresa in the Superstar (Lights n Lace) line.
• Debora Vanoff = Teresa in Star Hair (Hollywood Hair)
• Crash Norman, Deanna Kopfman, Bianca Welles, Sarah Duffy, and Hannah Mueller, in addition to Lia, Diva, and Viky, for Dana, Diva, and Dee Dee in their multiple editions of the Rockers.

Reina Matsuyama (Japan, 1999?)

• Animesque: A Japanese schoolgirl with an anime-like face.

Eli Kobayashi (Japan, 1960s)

• Animesque: Even more so than Reina.
• Passionate Sports Girl: She appears to be a gymnast.

"Singapore Girl" (Singapore, 1990s)

• No Name Given: Just "Singapore Girl"

Collector dolls

Betsi and Nena (Celebrate Disco)

• Graceful Ladies Like Purple: Betsi wears a purple jumpsuit.
• Palette Swap : They wear identical disco jumpsuits and boas, except Nena wears white whereas Besti wears purple.
• Token Black: Nena.

Tokidoki Keiko and Haruka

• You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Keiko has pink hair and Haruka has purple hair.
• Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: Keiko and Haruka respectively.

Mutya

• Meaningful Name: "Mutya" is Tagalog for "queen", and her dress makes her look vaguely royal.
• Pink Means Feminine: Mutya is essentially a Filipino version of a Barbie Princess doll and wears a pink traditional dress.

Maiko

• Geisha