Celebrity doll

A celebrity doll is a doll modelled after a celebrity.

Celebrity dolls have been in production for a very long time. In the 1840s, several famous ballerinas were featured as paper dolls. Also in the 19th century, various military heroes were portrayed as dolls/figures. With the advent of silent films, dolls of film stars were created. The John Bunny doll (a silent film star) was one of the first produced in 1914 by Louis Amberg & Sons. The first Charlie Chaplin doll was produced in 1915. The composition Baby Peggy doll was a huge success in 1923, also produced by the Amberg company. The Shirley Temple doll by Ideal was a phenomenon in the 1930s, and would go on to be one of the most successful celebrity dolls. First produced in 1934, millions of the composition Shirley dolls were produced (and, variations of the Shirley doll are being produced to this day, generally in porcelain or vinyl). After Shirley, companies like Alexander Doll Company and Ideal produced many different celebrity dolls, including Sonja Henie, Jane Withers and Deanna Durbin. Celebrity dolls still remain popular today, especially given the cult of celebrity that has developed in the 1980s-first decade of the 21st century. Because of the wide collecting audience for these dolls and their appeal as a cross-over collectible in many instances, some collectors also believe that the dolls have the possibility of appreciating in value in the future.

The best-selling celebrity dolls in history are The Spice Girls dolls, made in 1997, selling over eleven million, Other million selling dolls of recent years include the Britney Spears doll, made in 1999, the New Kids on the Block dolls (selling over two million dolls) and Christina Aguilera doll (selling over three million dolls). Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen dolls were also popular from 1999-2004. Dolls of Lindsay Lohan, Hilary Duff and Destiny's Child were being made in 2005-2006. In 2007-2009 dolls based on characters in Disney Channel movies and TV series, such as, High School Musical, Hannah Montana, The Cheetah Girls, Camp Rock, and Wizards of Waverly Place were released. In the 2010s, dolls of Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj and Lady Gaga were made for charitable efforts.

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