CBS News
Here are the women chosen for Barbie’s newest role model dolls
It’s Women’s History Month, and to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8 and Barbie’s 65th birthday on March 9, the doll brand has announced it is adding new dolls to its Role Models collection, based on real-life singers and actresses from around the world. They’re not for sale – a one-of-a-kind doll was made for each of the honored women.
The dolls are meant to introduce “girls to remarkable women’s stories to show them you can be anything,” according to Mattel. Here are the women chosen to be the next Barbie role models.
1. Viola Davis
The American actress is a Juilliard graduate who went on to become an EGOT recipient, having earned an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony. She is known for her roles in “Fences,” “The Help” and “The Woman King.” She was also on Time’s list of most influential people in 2017. But Davis is more than just an actress.
She and her husband, Julius Tennon, founded JuVee, a production company focused on giving a “voice to the voiceless,” says Mattel.
2. Shania Twain
The Canadian singer is a five-time Grammy winner known for hits like “You’re Still the One” and “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” She has sold more than 100 million albums world wide, becoming the top-selling country-pop artist of all time and recently went on a high-grossing tour in 2023. She also has an upcoming residency in Las Vegas, starting in May.
Twain shared a post about her new Barbie on social media Wednesday, saying she was honored to be recognized.
“Pinch me,” she wrote. “All I’ve wanted to do my whole life is tell stories of empowerment, independence and self-expression through my songwriting, getting to do that and inspire women and girls along the way is the dream… everything else is a beautiful bonus!”
3. Helen Mirren
The British actress is known for her performance as Queen Elizabeth II in “The Queen,” which earned her a best actress win at the 2007 Academy Awards, as well as for roles in films such as “The Madness of King George,” “Hitchcock” and “Red.”
Mirren also supports many organizations for women and children, according to Mattel.
She also holds a previous connection to Barbie, serving as the narrator in the “Barbie the Movie,” which topped the box office last year.
4. Kylie Minogue
The Australian-born singer has sold over 80 million records worldwide and has won two Grammys. Her hit 2023 song “Padam Padam“ reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Chart and her album “Tension” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Chart.
Her Barbie is dressed in red, paying homage to Minogue’s costumes in the “Padam Padam” music video.
“Look at Padam Barbie,” she wrote in a post debuting the doll on social media. “Baby Kylie would NOT believe this is happening right now.”
Other Barbie role models
In addition to the four entertainers added to the Barbie Role Models line, Mattel also honored four other women from around the world: Lila Avilés, a Mexican director, producer, and screenwriter; Maira Gomez, a Brazilian content creator; Nicole Fujita, a Japanese model; and Enissa Amani, a Germany comedian.
Previous Barbies in the collection include producer Shonda Rhimes, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, singer Celia Cruz, skateboarder Sky Brown and tennis star Naomi Osaka.
CBS News
Reporters’ notebook: A reflection on our return to Butler 84 days later
It was hard to miss the massive American flag towering over the Butler Farm Show ground on July 13 as it waved over the rally site where former President Donald Trump was set to speak, just days before a crucial running mate selection and the Republican National Convention.
On July 13, the two of us, who had been tag-teaming coverage of Trump’s third run for president for over a year, went to what we thought would be a typical Trump rally in an open field in a Pittsburgh suburb, a crucial electoral area in a crucial battleground state. It ended with a gunman trying to take Trump’s life, and the death of a fireman, Corey Comparatore.
We stood front and center in the press area at 6 p.m. and Trump took the stage (an hour late, as can be the case) and knew right away that something wasn’t right when what sounded like firecrackers went off to our left. That’s where shooter Thomas Crooks had climbed up onto an unprotected building just outside of the security perimeter and fired multiple shots.
A hydraulic lift that held up a massive stack of speakers was struck, sending smoke shooting out and the speakers slowly fell towards the ground, and as we took cover (ground twice), all we could think was to pull out our phones and get to work. Olivia recorded the sounds of panicked journalists and attendees alike huddled along the press riser and bicycle racks separating us, the shrieks of scared children, and, realized only upon listening many times since, the sound of those around Corey Comperatore yelling for assistance.
Jake spoke with emergency room Dr. James Sweetland, who ran to help Comperatore, and said that he heard the gunshots and went to assist, finding Comperatore “jammed between the benches” before attempting to save his life.
We both stood in shock as the crowd turned on us in the moments after Trump’s motorcade sped out of Butler, with one man yelling “This is your fault!”
What was to be a typical Trump rally wasn’t so typical anymore.
Eighty-four days later Trump returned, and so did the two of us, taking the same route from downtown Pittsburgh, parking in the same location, and enduring a similar heat with no shade in the press pen alongside fellow reporters who, just like us and the former president, chose to return and confront our trauma.
The stage was set up in the same location, with that same American flag looming over Trump and the crowd behind him on that day.
But for everything that was the same that day, there were striking differences. The building where the gunman had climbed up, crawled across, and ultimately fired fatal shots, was completely obstructed from the view of the crowd by tractor trailers. Several teams of snipers were stationed throughout the rally site. It was perhaps the largest crowd we have seen thus far at a Trump rally.
And we are not the same people. Witnessing the events of July 13 took away our feeling of safety while doing our jobs, and the effects of that continue to impact us. There was a moment of shock at one point, when the speaker on stage paused as the crowd shouted “medic” for a woman who fainted. We were frozen in fear hearing the same words that were shouted in the seconds after Trump’s assassination attempt, as people were shouting for a medic to take care of Comperatore.
But like July 13, we had to go to work. Like those in the crowd of tens of thousands that chose to return, there was a sense of unfinished business on this fairground. We had continued on to Milwaukeee and the Republican National Convention to cover Trump’s first public appearance since Butler, but we knew that we had to come back here, no matter how painful it was to land back in Pittsburgh, head north on Route 79 and pull off at the Butler Farm Show, and finish the job: for the two of us, for CBS News, for the country.
Unlike other speakers on the stage Saturday who championed Trump’s words of “fight, fight, fight,” Sweetland went out of his way to mention he is a former Democrat and pleaded with the crowd to reach out and find five Democrats with whom they could find commonality.
“Democrats are like teenagers,” Sweetland said. “You think they aren’t listening, but they are.”
Eight-four days later, the entire race has changed, and so have we.
CBS News
Jewish communities on high alert ahead of one-year mark of Oct. 7
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Recalling the Oct. 7 massacre nearly one year on
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