Dr. Ellen Ochoa Reacts to Barbie Honoring Her with Inspiring Women Doll
Credit: Barbie
Just in time for Our Heritage Month, Dr. Ellen Ochoa is being honored with her very own Barbie doll. As part of the Inspiring Women Doll line, she joins other iconic dolls like the ones for Isabel Allende, Celia Cruz, Venus Williams, and Kristi Yamaguchi.
Dr. Ochoa is the first Latina in space and served on the nine-day STS-56 mission aboard the space shuttle discovery in 1993. She went on to participate in three additional space missions during her time at NASA. She also has a doctorate in electrical engineering from Stanford University and was the first Latina director at the Johnson Space Center. And in 2024, Dr. Ochoa was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her advancements in STEM.
Now her career and achievements are being hightlighted by Barbie.
The Barbie design team directly collaborated with Dr. Ochoa for the doll. She is seen wearing an orange flight suit with multiple patches. Two are of NASA, one has her name on it with wings, and the final one is of the space shuttle with her crew members names on it in. She has orange gloves and a helmet.
When speaking with Dr. Ochoa, she told Remezcla that it was “really exciting” to work with Barbie. “I worked with Barbie and Mattel as they were developing the doll because they do really try to make it as much modeled on me as possible, including what I’m wearing and the parts that look like the launch and entry suit that I wore on my first mission. So I thought it turned out great.”
And even though Dr. Ochoa didn’t own any Barbie’s growing up, she always understood their importance. “Barbie’s evolved a lot. And there’s always been this focus on showing Barbie in many different careers. I mean, back in 1965 they had the first astronaut Barbie and it wasn’t until 1978 that NASA actually selected the first women to be astronauts. So I feel like Barbie was really ahead of the curve on that.”
Now that Dr. Ochoa is one of those Barbie’s the feeling is kind of surreal. “Barbie and Mattel, they’re such huge brands that everyone knows. They’re so widespread and I think [this doll] it’s just a really new, exciting, big way for me to be able to continue that outreach,” Dr. Ochoa shared, who is very invested in outreach, especially when it comes to STEM and children’s education. “Hopefully, you know, the kids that are playing with them, it gives them that extra something to think about. You know, thinking about, as I say, reaching for the stars, right? Setting a big goal and just step by step thinking about what it would take to get them there.” Just like she did.
The Dr. Ellen Ochoa Inspiring Women Doll is available to pre-order on the Mattel Creations website for $38. The dolls are expected to ship out October 31.