Who is Ruth in ‘Barbie?’

Greta Gerwig’s Barbie features multiple versions of Barbie and Ken, played by notable A-list celebrities like Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Dua Lipa, and Simu Liu. However, the film also featured other characters such as America Ferrera and Ariana Greenblatt as humans, Will Ferrell as the CEO of Mattel, and Helen Mirren as the offscreen narrator.

However, there is one more notable figure, and that’s a woman named Ruth. She’s played by Rhea Perlman, known for her roles as Mrs. Wormwood in 1996’s Matilda, Peral Caraldo in the late ’90s series Pearl, and Judith in 2016’s Sing. So, who is this character in this summer blockbuster, and was she shown in the trailer?

Who is Ruth in Barbie?

Ruth in Barbie is Ruth Handler, the creator of the titular dolls and the first president of Mattel from 1945 to 1975. According to Mattel’s corporate website, she created the popular toy line in 1959 after observing her daughter, Barbara, play with paper dolls. Handler believed that Barbie could inspire young women that can be anything, a message that’s still true to this day.

It’s important to note that Handler wasn’t perfect. USA Today reported that she was indicted for mail fraud and false reporting to the Securities and Exchange Commission in 1978 and pleaded “no contest.” She was fined $57,000 and had to take 2,500 hours of community service.

In 2002, Handler died at age 85, after the entrepreneur suffered from complications from a colon surgery three months prior. Before this, Handler was diagnosed with breast cancer, and she blamed her illness for affecting her duties as Mattel’s CEO.

Handler does not appear anywhere in the Barbie trailers or any of its promotional material. However, it was reported by The Huffington Post that the woman that sat next to Barbie is Barbara Handler (aka the daughter). Fortunately, Ruth’s presence is featured in the trailer as she is the one who spoke the final monologue. TMZ reported that the Handler family had zero involvement during the development of Barbie, but were glad to see their mother’s legacy live on.