Ruth Handler

Ruth Marianna Handler ( Mosko; November 4, 1916 – April 27, 2002) was an American businesswoman and inventor. She is best known for inventing the Barbie doll in 1959, and being co-founder of toy manufacturer Mattel with her husband Elliot, as well as serving as the company's first president from 1945 to 1975. The Handlers were forced to resign from Mattel in 1975 after the Securities and Exchange Commission investigated the company for falsifying financial documents. Early life Ruth Marianna Mosko was born on November 4, 1916, in Denver, Colorado, to Polish-Jewish immigrants Jacob Moskowicz, a blacksmith, and Ida Moskowicz, née Rubenstein. She married her high school boyfriend, Elliot Handler, and moved to Los Angeles in 1938, where she found work at Paramount.