C: Christie

 

Christie

Christie was Barbie's first African American friend, though not the first AA doll in the line. That would be Barbie's cousin Francie in an AA version (more on this to come). But let's get back to Christie. She was first introduced in 1968 as part of the Talking line. She got a new face mold that was also used on the Julia doll. 

Christie seems to have come and gone from the Barbie line many times. After disappearing in 2005, she came back in 2015 only to be discontinued once again. She had a boyfriend in the 1970s named Brad, but the two were temporarily replaced by Cara and Curtis. Cara appeared in three Barbie lines, but Curtis's only appearance was in the Free Moving Line of 1975. Barbie herself was first made in an AA version in 1980, and Ken's first AA version was in 1982. New AA character Steven was introduced in 1988, but he only appeared in the annual swimsuit lines. 

I would have liked to have seen Christie portrayed in the movie.

See Christie's history in this video:

Although the character was discontinued in 2015, a 55th anniversary Christie was issued in 2023 (pictured below). Christie's place in the line-up of friends has been taken by another doll (this will be in another post).