Barbie play with paper dolls, and noticed that she often enjoyed giving them adult roles. At the time, most children's toy dolls were representations of infants. Realizing that there could be a gap in the market, Handler suggested the idea of an adult-bodied doll to her husband Elliot, a co-founder of the Mattel toy company. He was unenthusiastic about the idea, as were Mattel's directors. During a trip to Europe in 1956 with her children Barbara and Kenneth, Ruth Handler came across a German toy doll called Bild Lilli. The adult-figured doll was exactly what Handler had in mind, so she
Brent Handler 1969 in Denver, Colorado, the son of Suzanne and Norton Handler. Norton Handler owned a series of clothing manufacturers and shared his passion for entrepreneurism and real estate with both Brent and his older brother Brad during their early years. Handler attended Thomas Jefferson High School (Denver), where he played tennis and basketball, and graduated in 1987. He earned his undergraduate business degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1991. In 1995, Handler married Kirsten Sweetman. They have three children. Brother, Brad Handler, went on to become the first in-house attorney at eBay and later joined Brent as