Alicia Keys has earned her icon status, and Barbie is recognizing the work she’s put in over the years. The renowned brand is honoring women in music with Barbie’s 2025 Career of the Year and Role Model dolls, and Keys happens to be one of them. The second doll represents Key’s recording and mix engineer, Ann Mincieli. The general gist of the new dolls is to celebrate two distinct industry roles—musical Artist and Tour Manager.
Barbie’s brand team partnered with Grammy-winning artist Mincieli and their She Is The Music initiative to honor women who have made careers in the music industry.
“This year’s Barbie Career of the Year set recognizes the accomplishments of women in music, while shining a spotlight on careers in the industry that might not be as well-known as a musical artist,” Krista Berger, senior vice president of Barbie and the global head of dolls at Mattel, said in a statement.
The release of these new dolls are timely considering National Barbie Day is March 9 and the month of March is also National Women’s History Month.
“Recognizing that only 22% of artists across music charts are female, the Barbie Musical Artist doll celebrates the women leaving their hearts on the stage by performing and singing their own music across genres,” the news release added.
The dolls are “designed to inspire the next generation to explore careers in music, both on stage and behind the scenes.”
In 2024, Barbie focused on the film industry, introducing the Women in Film doll collection. It featured four distinct professions—Studio Executive, Director, Cinematographer and Actor —to inspire the next generation of women to explore careers in film on set, in the boardroom and beyond.
Earlier this year, Barbie honored Aaliyah with the Music Collector Series doll.