Revealed: The identity of the old woman on the bench in the Barbie movie

If you have watched Barbie over the weekend, you may have noticed a scene where Margot Robbie as Barbie shares a moment with an older woman on the bench as she arrives in the real world. There have been speculations about the actress who has played the older woman in the film and many have claimed that it is actually Barbara Handler who made a cameo. Barbara inspired the Barbie doll when it came out in 1959. But turns out the news was false. The stereotypical Barbie actually meets Ann Roth on the bench.

Ann Roth is an Oscar-winning costume designer and plays the older woman on the bench in the movie. Greta Gerwig is known to be friends with Roth and hence had approached her for the cameo.

Who is Barbara Handler?

Barbara Handler's parents - Elliot and Ruth Handler - co-founded Mattel with Harold Matson in 1945. In 1959, Ruth createdthe Barbie doll named after her daughter Barbara. Barbie went on to become one of the highest-selling toys of all time.

Ruth died in 2002 when she was 85 and actress Rhea Perlman plays her in the 2023 movie. Barbara is currently 82 years old and believably could have appeared as the older woman on the bench in Barbie, but instead, that role went to someone else.

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Why was Ann Roth cast in Barbie?

Filmmaker Greta Gerwig explained to The New York Times that she cast Roth for her movie because the two were friends. Gerwig revealed she was looking for someone older to play the woman on the bench. The scene is a poignant one in the film where Robbie's Barbie remarks that Roth's character is beautiful, which she agrees to, and they share a laugh. It is a simple scene, but it embodies the heart of Barbie and how she wants to live a life like a human being.

Roth is an Oscar-winning costume designer who has worked on films such as Midnight Cowboy, 9 to 5, The World According to Garp, Working Girl, The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Hours, The Village, Mamma Mia and many others. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design five times and won it twice- for The English Patient in 1996 and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom in 2020.