With Barbie being all anyone can talk about in recent weeks, you’d be forgiven for thinking you know everything about the iconic doll.
However, fans of the Mattel toys are just discovering that she and her boyfriend, Ken, are named after real people!
Despite being aimed at kids, the dolls even have surnames – just like real grown-ups. (Spoilers ahead)
Advert
If you’ve already watched Barbie, you’ll know that creator Ruth Handler named the doll after her beloved daughter Barbara.
There’s even a heart-warming moment in the movie where Ruth Handler (played by Rhea Perlman) explains to Barbie (Margot Robbie) where she got her famous moniker from.
In fact, her full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts with the iconic doll being ‘born’ on March 9, 1959. (The more you know, eh?)
Well contrary to Ryan Gosling’s song in the pastel pink picture, he’s not ‘just Ken”.
Proving he is the perfect playmate for Barbie, Ken also took his name from a real-life inspiration: Ruth Handler’s son.
Surprisingly though, he didn’t share his girlfriend's last name and is actually called Kenneth Sean Carson.
It seems Handler really didn’t want her creation to be tied down, with Barbie’s love interest only hitting shelves in March 1961 after complaints about the doll being single.
Debuting in red swimming trunks with matching sandals and a towel, Ken was born beach-ready – unlike his real-life alter ego.
Kenneth Handler even spoke about his mother’s creation with the LA Times and admitted during the 1989 interview that they didn’t have a lot in common.
“He goes to the beach and surfs. He is all these perfect American things,” he told the publication, adding: “I was a nerd—a real nerd. All the girls thought I was a jerk.”
Having learnt even more about the iconic doll, fans were understandably shocked.
One even took to Twitter to share their surprise, writing: “His full name is KENNETH SEAN CARSON. I’m done for the day.”
Another wrote: “I was today years old when I learned that #barbie boo thang #ken actually has a full name. #kennethseancarson!”
“Can we please talk about how Ken’s real name is KENNETH SEAN CARSON?!”, gushed a third.
As fans are still coming to grips with the fact that Ken isn’t just Ken, you might be interested to learn another bit of trivia about the Mattel toys.
Just like his famous counterparts, the discontinued doll Allan was surprisingly named after Ruth Handler’s son-in-law.
Sadly though, we think people are too caught up in the Kenergy to realise though!
Topics: Barbie, Film and TV, Margot Robbie, Celebrity
Katherine Sidnell