CBS News
Barbie honors Venus Williams and 8 other athletes with one-of-a-kind dolls
Mattel is releasing nine new Barbie dolls depicting some of the world’s most celebrated female athletes, including tennis star Venus Williams and Canadian soccer icon Christine Sinclair. The nine dolls are part of the brand’s ongoing celebration of Barbie’s 65th anniversary.
“Barbie is thrilled to continue the brand’s 65th-anniversary celebration by recognizing the impact of sports in fostering self-confidence, ambition, and empowerment among the next generation,” Krista Berger, senior vice president of Barbie and global head of dolls, Mattel, said in statement Wednesday. “By shining a light on these inspirational athletes and their stories, we hope to champion the belief that every young girl deserves the opportunity to pursue her passions and turn her dreams into reality.”
The one-of-kind-dolls will not be available for purchase. Other athletes being honored with Barbie dolls in their likeness are Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade, Mexican gymnast Alexa Moreno, Australian soccer player Mary Fowler, French boxer Estelle Mossely, Italian swimmer Federica Pellegrini, Spanish paratriathlete Susana Rodriguez and Polish track and field sprinter Ewa Swoboda. In April, celebrated as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, the toy brand honored U.S. figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi.
Mattel, Inc.
“Throughout my career, I’ve always been driven by the idea of shattering glass ceilings and staying true to myself, and Barbie’s mission couldn’t resonate more deeply with that ethos,” tennis legend Venus Williams said in the same statement from Mattel.
Here are the nine athletes who are the latest women to be recognized by Barbie with dolls in their likeness.
Venus Williams
Having won four Olympic gold medals and seven Grand Slam singles titles, Venus Williams is considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time. In 2007, the California native was the first woman in tennis to earn the same prize money at Wimbledon as the male athletes. Williams’ appearance on the tennis court has slowed in recent years, ever since she withdrew from the Australian Open in January 2023.
Christine Sinclair
With 190 goals on her resume, Christine Sinclair has been named Canadian Player of the Year 14 times and she has 12 Olympic goals — more than any other player. She retired from international play last year, CBC reported.
Mary Fowler
Labeled a soccer prodigy by some, Mary Fowler at age 16 became the youngest player on Australia’s soccer team in the 2019 FIFA World Cup. She now plays forward for the Manchester City Matildas.
“Super grateful for the opportunity to capture and share a version of myself when I feel my strongest, and most confident,” she said on an Instagram post about the new doll. “To finally see and hold my Barbie with its bubble braid, gloves and boots, in a look that many young girls recreate is so special.”
Estelle Mossely
Estelle Mossely won France’s first ever gold medal in women’s boxing at the Rio Olympics on her 24th birthday. She also won a silver medal at the 2015 European Games.
“What pride to have my own barbie with everything that that represents,” Mossely said in a X post on Wednesday. “It’s an honor to be a part of the 2024 Barbie team surrounded by all these great champions.”
Alexa Moreno
Moreno became the first female gymnast representing Mexico to win a World Championships medal when she placed third at the 2018 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Doha, Qatar. Despite injuries to her ankle, head, knee and shoulders that have derailed her career since 2020, Moreno plans to compete in the 2024 Olympics in Paris, NPR affiliate KPBS reported this week. Forbes Mexico in 2019 recognized Moreno as one of the 100 most powerful women in Mexico.
Rebeca Andrade
A native of São Paulo, Brazil, Rebeca Andrade has managed to cement herself as one of the greatest gymnasts of all time. Her performance at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 won Brazil its first ever gold medal in women’s gymnastics. She was on the cover of Vogue Brazil in October 2021 and plans to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Susana Rodriguez
Susana Rodriguez was born with albinism and a vision impairment that severely weakened her ability to see. Despite that obstacle, Rodriguez is a doctor and paratriathlon athlete, winning a gold medal in 2020 at the Tokyo Paralympic Games. She was featured on the cover of Time magazine in 2021.
Federica Pellegrini
This Italian swimmer won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. A year later, at the 2009 FINA World Aquatics Championships in Rome, she became the first woman to break the 4-minute barrier in the 400-meter freestyle. Pellegrini retired from swimming in 2021 and had her first child — a daughter named Matilde — in January.
Ewa Swoboda
Ewa Swoboda is a Polish track and field sprinter and three-time European Indoor Championship medallist. She took home the gold medal in 2019. Throughout her career, she has continued to break records, most recently at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships where she set a new national record of 6.98 seconds in the women’s 60 meters race.
The U.S. received written assurance from Iran before the presidential election that its leadership was not actively trying to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump, CBS News confirmed, according to a source with direct knowledge of the correspondence. The message arrived after the White House in September affirmed that killing a former U.S. president or former U.S. official would be seen by the Biden administration as an act of war.
“We consider this a national and homeland security matter of the highest priority, and we strongly condemn Iran for these brazen threats,” National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement in September.
Iran said in its message, which was conveyed by a third party, that it understood this premise. The Wall Street Journal first reported Iran’s message to the U.S.
The Justice Department is currently prosecuting at least two individuals alleged to have been part of murder-for-hire plots to kill Trump while he was still a candidate. One operative working for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps told federal investigators that he was tasked in September with “surveilling, and, ultimately, assassinating” Trump, according to court records unsealed last week.
Prosecutors said Farhad Shakeri, who is believed to be residing in Iran, told investigators in a phone interview that unnamed IRGC officials pushed him to plan an attack against Trump to take place in October. If the plan could not come together in time, the Iranian officials directed Shakeri to delay the plot until after the election because the official “assessed that [Trump] would lose the election,” the charging documents said.
In early August, a Pakistani national with alleged ties to Iran was arrested and charged with plotting a murder-for-hire scheme targeting U.S. government officials and politicians, according to charging documents unsealed Tuesday.
A U.S. official pointed out that Iran did not task its most effective proxy force, Hezbollah, with carrying out these plots. This official described Iran’s approach to date as “nice if it works. If it doesn’t, then it’s not a problem.”
In response to inquiries suggesting that “Iran told U.S. it wouldn’t try to kill Trump”, the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran said it would not comment on official messages between two countries.
The mission said in a statement, “The Islamic Republic of Iran has long declared its commitment to pursuing Martyr Soleimani’s assassination through legal and judicial avenues, while adhering fully to the recognized principles of international law.”
Trump has raised the ire of Iranians for a few reasons. He exited the international Iran nuclear agreement, which had lifted some sanctions in exchange for restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program. He also directed the 2020 airstrike that killed top Iranian commander Gen. Qasem Soleimani. Since then, some Trump administration officials and military officials received threats from the regime, among them, Robert O’Brien, who was national security adviser during the strike. His predecessor in the job, John Bolton, who was part of the maximum pressure campaign that exerted sanctions pressure on Tehran, has also received threats.
In 2022, the U.S. intelligence community assessed that Iran would threaten Americans — both directly and via proxy attacks — and was committed to developing networks inside the U.S. Two persistent threat assessments submitted to Congress by the State Department in January 2022 cited a “serious and credible threat” to the lives of former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Trump administration Iran envoy Brian Hook. The non-public assessments showed that throughout 2021 and again in 2022, the State Department determined that round-the-clock, U.S.-taxpayer-funded diplomatic security details were needed to protect both men. That continues today.
Multiple former officials have spoken to CBS about duty-to-warn notices that they have recently received from the FBI and other agencies regarding the ongoing threat from Iran and Iranian-hired actors, implying the U.S. is taking the threat seriously and not taking the Iranian regime’s assurances at face value.
contributed to this report.
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
