Barbie teams with Ilona Maher to help keep girls in sports

Rugby star Ilona Maher is a two-time Olympian, a “Dancing With the Stars” alum, a social media favorite and now a Barbie doll.

Mattel announced Monday that it had assembled a team of four international rugby athletes to help encourage girls to embrace their confidence and stay in sports. The new “Team Barbie” campaign is to celebrate International Day of the Girl, which is Oct. 11.

“We all doubt ourselves at times, myself included,” Maher said in a statement. “If sharing my story can inspire other young girls to believe in themselves the way I have, then I’ll have truly made an impact. Being part of Team Barbie is about showing girls that confidence isn’t something to shy away from, but something to own.”

Also part of Team Barbie are Ellie Kildunne from the U.K., New Zealand’s Portia Woodman-Wickliffe and Nassira Konde from France.

A breakout star at the 2024 Paris Olympics even before the rugby sevens team’s historic bronze medal, Maher became known for her social media videos that offered a humorous glimpse into the day-to-day life of an Olympic athlete. She has also used her platform to empower women, champion body positivity and help raise the profile of rugby in the U.S.

The Barbie doll versions of international rugby stars Ellie Kildunne, left, Ilona Maher, Nassira Konde and Portia Woodman-Wickliffe.

(Mattel)

“As women, a lot of times our body has been this object to be looked at and to be objectified, and I hate that there’s girls out there that feel like they don’t have a purpose for their body, and so they want to change it constantly,” Maher told The Times last year. “To get into sports and a sport like rugby, a sport like canoe, and track and field gives your body a purpose, shows what it can do and what it’s capable of. It’s not just something that is for others to judge.”

As part of its campaign, Mattel conducted a study to try to better understand why girls tend to stop participating in sports. The research found that only 53% of girls ages 6 to 14 feel confident while playing sports and that 1 in 3 girls stops playing sports by age 14 “primarily due to body confidence concerns, self-doubt, and a lack of visible female role models.”

“At Barbie … [w]e’re committed to breaking down the barriers — from gender stereotypes to self-doubt — that hold girls back from realizing their limitless potential,” Krista Berger, the senior vice president of Barbie, said in a news release for the new campaign. “By showcasing the stories of incredible role models whose confidence has fueled groundbreaking success, we’re showing girls that the future of sports — or wherever their passion takes them — is theirs to claim, with Team Barbie cheering them on.”

The Team Barbie campaign is not the first time the company has put the spotlight on athletes. Last year, Barbie teamed up with WNBA icon Sue Bird as part of its 65th anniversary celebration. Barbie has also teamed with the Chicago Sky for Barbie-themed game days in the last two WNBA seasons.

Other female athletes Barbie highlighted last year included tennis player Venus Williams, soccer stars Christine Sinclair and Mary Fowler, boxer Estelle Mossely, gymnasts Alexa Moreno and Rebeca Andrade, paratriathlete Susana Rodriguez, swimmer Federica Pellegrini and track and field sprinter Ewa Swoboda.