Skipper Roberts is a doll created by Mattel in 1964 to be Barbie's younger sister.
Mattel redesigned Skipper in 2009, adding a purple streak to her hair and giving her a tech-savvy personality. According to her fictional biography, Skipper calls herself a gadget girl who likes computers and trying out the latest technology. In the Barbie movies, she likes to work on her photo blog.
Skipper's appearance has changed significantly since her introduction. The first Skipper doll was eight years old. She was designed as a response to requests for Barbie to have children; Mattel felt that a little sister would be a better choice instead. Skipper was later changed to a teenager, and a controversial "Growing Up Skipper" doll with growable breasts was created to demonstrate the change.
Fictional biography
According to the Random House novels of the 1960s, Skipper is the second child of George and Margaret Roberts of Willows, Wisconsin (their first child being Barbie). In these novels, she attended Baker Elementary, while the Marvel Comics of the early 1990s had her at Central Junior High School.
Since Skipper was re-released in 2009, she has had a new personality to match her redesigned appearance. She is described as a technology lover who likes "being a gadget girl and trying out the hottest techie toys." As of Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures, this iteration of Skipper is fourteen years old.
Skipper's new design has also been rendered in computer animation for her appearances in the Barbie film series and the TV series Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures. For the TV show, Skipper and her sisters were given "a realistic and modern CGI look" that was different from previous entries in the franchise.
Physical appearance
Since Skipper was introduced, the dimensions of the doll have changed significantly. She was 9.25 inches in height (compared to Barbie's 11.5 inches) when she was first introduced, and then as newer versions were released, she gradually became taller with a teenage appearance. Usually, Skipper dolls have blue eyes.
History
Creation
Skipper was created, along with Midge, to counteract criticism that claimed Barbie was a sex symbol. Midge's facial appearance was gentler than Barbie's, whereas Skipper was a response to requests for Barbie to have children; however, instead of having a married, pregnant Barbie, which would make her too domestic, Barbie would babysit Skipper. As Barbie's little sister, Skipper was Barbie's first family member sold. Since their introduction in 1964, Skipper dolls have changed drastically.
Modern (1975–present) In 1975, Growing Up Skipper was released. The gimmick of the doll, which led to much controversy in the newspapers, was that if Skipper's arm was rotated, the doll would become an inch taller and small breasts would appear on her rubber torso. This concept was later used for Mattel's My Scene brand in 2007 with the "Growing Up Glam" line, which was also controversial. In 1979, Skipper's entire appearance changed. She was advertised as "Super Teen Skipper". She had a new body mold which included small, permanent breasts, and a different head mold that made her look slightly older. In 1985, Hot Stuff Skipper was released, which had another new head mold that included the addition of dimples and a longer face.
Skipper changed again in 1988 with the release of Teen Fun Skipper. Her new body mold was taller and more graceful. Her waist was more flexible and her breasts were slightly bigger. Her eyes were also enlarged, giving her a cartoon-like look. At this stage she appeared to be somewhere between 13 and 15 years old. Later, Skipper had a new head mold with smaller eyes in a Pizza Party line, but with the same body mold.
Finally, in 1997, Teen Skipper was introduced. She again had a new body mold and was now almost as tall as her sister Barbie. This was mostly because of her legs, which were now long and lanky. Most notable of all, however, was Skipper's new face mold. She no longer looked like a child, but more like a girl on the brink of becoming a woman. Teen Skipper's packaging revealed that she is now "16 years old". If she was nine when she was introduced (and she was), when Barbie was billed as the "Famous Teen-Age Fashion Doll", then Barbie could not realistically be considered a teenager any longer. Skipper also appeared to have larger breasts which continued the controversy over her sexualization that has dogged Skipper in the past.