Ruth Handler Ruth Handler Ruth Marianna Handler (née Mosko; November 4, 1916 – April 27, 2002) was an American businesswoman and inventor. She served as the president of the toy manufacturer Mattel Inc., and is best remembered for inventing the Barbie doll, although the doll's design was created by missile engineer-turned-toy designer Jack Ryan. Handler was born as Ruth Marianna Mosko in Denver, Colorado, to Polish Jewish immigrants Ida Mosko (née Rubenstein) and Jacob Mosko. She married her high school boyfriend, Elliot Handler, and moved to Los Angeles in 1938. Her husband decided to make their furniture out of two newfound types
Ruth Handler after resigning, they continued to create new ideas. One project Handler took on in the 1980s was Barbie and the Rockers. She was credited as a writer of the 1987 film "". Handler was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 1997. She died in California from complications of surgery for colon cancer on April 27, 2002, aged 85. Her husband Elliot died nine years later at the age of 94. Ruth Handler Ruth Marianna Handler (née Mosko; November 4, 1916 – April 27, 2002) was an American businesswoman and inventor. She served as the president