Misty Copeland Inspires Ballerina Barbie Doll

The first African-American principal dancer, Misty Copeland gets honored with her own ballerina Barbie doll.

She appeared on Good Morning America on Monday, May 2nd where she unveiled the doll. The doll wears a piece similar to her Firebird costume from her ABT principal role. She as very much involved with the doll’s design, helping Barbie with every detail.

The doll is apart of the Barbie Sheroes program, it honors women who inspire young girls by breaking boundaries and expanding possibilities for a diverse group of women. This line has honored other famous women such as Ava DuVernay, Emmy Rossum, Kristin Chenoweth and Eva Chen.

The Barbie Doll will include a tulle headpiece and ballet shoes. It will be retailing at $29.95 and according to NPR, it was only available for pre-order on the Barbie Collection website.

33-year-old, Misty Copeland has made history by becoming the first African-American female principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre in 75-years of the company’s history. For those who may not know, a principal dancer is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company.

Copeland was born in Kansas City, Missouri and raised in San Pedro, California. She started doing ballet at the age of 13, which is a late start for a dancer such as she is. With the late start you’d think the odds would be against her but ballet has introduced her to being one of Time’s magazine’s 100 most influential in 2015, many other magazine articles, a segment on 60 Minutes and an upcoming documentary entitled A Ballerina’s Tale. Whew!

She got her most shine once she was starred in the role of American Ballet Theatre’s production of Swan Lake and was the first African American to do it. She’s a social media sensation and has had over 8 million views for an online ad she made for Under Armour.

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