Raise your hand if you had a Barbie Doll, or Hot Wheels, when you were a kid.

Or how about a Chatty Cathy, or a See-and-Say? 

Bu perhaps no toy of the 20th century in America was more iconic, more popular, and more widely known than the ubiquitous Barbie doll.

Ruth Handler was the key figure in bringing all of those to market, as the co-founder of Mattel Toys.