Like numerous little women, a young Kristi Yamaguchi liked playing with Barbie. With a schedule jam-packed with ice skating practices, her Barbie dolls endedupbeing her “best pals.”
So, it’s surreal for the embellished Olympian figure skater to now be a Barbie lady herself.
“It’s a big, substantial honor. I believe a lot of pride comes along with it, not simply acknowledging the Olympic accomplishment, however likewise being acknowledged throughout AAPI Month and following in the steps of some unbelievable females that I admire — Anna May Wong, Maya Angelou and Rosa Parks,” Yamaguchi informed The Associated Press. “It’s difficult to see me put in the classification with them.”
Yamaguchi, who endedupbeing the veryfirst Asian American to win an private figure skating gold medal, at the 1992 Winter Olympics, hasactually been celebrated as a doll for Barbie’s “Inspiring Women Series,” Mattel revealed Wednesday. The release is timed for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, in May.
This isn’t Yamaguchi’s initially doll representation. In the ’90s, touring program Stars on Ice put out a line of dolls designed after noteworthy skaters. The Barbie variation is a lot more detailed.
Mattel duplicated whatever the then 20-year-old medalist used at the Olympics in Albertville, France: the shimmering black-and-gold brocade attire developed by Lauren Sheehan, the gold hair ribbon and even a red-and-white arrangement like Yamaguchi held atop the podium.
Yamaguchi stated both she and Sheehan are “just so tickled pink.”
She likewise is delighted with the doll’s visage.
“It looks like me for sure. You understand, the eyes and simply the shape of the face. And then, of course, the hair, for sure. I suggest, it has the bangs that are the ’90s,” Yamaguchi stated, laughing.
She values that the doll’s release comes on the high heels of the hit “Barbie” motionpicture last year. Her children, ages 18 and 20, are fans of the Oscar-nominated movie. Their preliminary response to their mom being a Barbie? Disbelief.
“When they discovered out I was getting a doll, they were kind of flabb