How old is Barbie supposed to be?

Barbie fever has officially hit the UK with its London premiere on Wednesday (12 July) to celebrate the upcoming arrival of Greta Gerwig's movie.

Margot Robbie took to the pink carpet in a custom Vivienne Westwood gown, inspired by the Enchanted Evening Barbie from 1960. The pale pink gown had a corseted strapless top, floral detailing at the hip, a train and white opera gloves. She walked onto the red carpet with a ruffle around her neck – like the doll – which she later removed.

Ryan Gosling, who plays Ken in the film, sported a 70s-inspired spearmint suit with a lighter-coloured shirt underneath.

The event saw a host of stars, including Dua Lipa, Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa, Sam Smith, Leomie Anderson, Molly Mae, Andrew Wyatt, Rob Brydon and many more.

With the film release just around the corner and the marketing team still putting in overtime to paint the world pink, some people's attention has wandered elsewhere with the very random, yet thought-provoking, question of how old the fictional doll is supposed to be.

Now, on paper, the Barbie doll (formerly known as Barbara Millicent Roberts) has existed for over 60 years. The doll was first released in 1959, which would make her 64. Ken arrived two years later.

Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Getty Images

However, in the past, Mattel has said Barbie is frozen at 19 years old.

Given her impressive CV as a dentist, vet, chef, dancer, designer, and photojournalist, among many more, we'd argue she's not doing too bad. Not to mention her DreamHouse and car ownership,

"My whole philosophy of Barbie was that through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be," Barbie creator Ruth Handler wrote in her 1994 autobiography. "Barbie always represented the fact that a woman has choices."

Barbie is produced by Robbie’s company LuckyChap and will be released in cinemas on July 21.

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.