Mattel Introduces Barbie with Type 1 Diabetes

Mattel, along with Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF), has introduced a Barbie with Type 1 diabetes.

“Barbie helps shape children’s early perceptions of the world, and by reflecting medical conditions like T1D, we ensure more kids can see themselves in the stories they imagine and the dolls they love,” Krista Berger, senior vice president of Barbie and global head of dolls, said in a news release.

Barbie wears a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) on her arm to help manage her Type 1 diabetes, and she has a phone that displays a CGM app to help track her blood sugar levels throughout the day. The doll also wears an insulin pump that allows for automated insulin dosing.

The blue polka dot top and matching skirt the doll wears represent diabetes awareness. The Barbie with Type 1 diabetes is available for $10.99 at Walmart and Amazon, but both sites indicate the doll is currently not available.

“Visibility matters for everyone facing type 1 diabetes,” Emily Mazreku, director of marketing strategy at Breakthrough T1D, said in a news release. “As a mom living with T1D, it means everything to have Barbie helping the world see T1D and the incredible people who live with it.”

The Barbie doll with type 1 diabetes was introduced at the Breakthrough T1D 2025 Children’s Congress, held July 7 to July 9 in Washington, D.C., to advocate for continued federal research funding. Youth delegates from all 50 states and Breakthrough T1D’s international affiliates in the United Kingdom, Australia, Israel, the Netherlands, and Canada received their own dolls.

Mattel also honored two global role models and Type 1 diabetes advocates—Peloton instructor Robin Arzón in the United States and model Lila Moss in the United Kingdom—with their own one-of-a-kind Barbie dolls.

“Receiving messages from people who see my patches and feel represented means everything to me. To be able to now see Barbie dolls with T1D, and to receive a Barbie doll that visibly looks like me, even wearing her patches, is both surreal and special,” Moss said.

The Barbie doll with Type 1 diabetes is part of the Barbie Fashionista series. As the brand’s most diverse doll line, the Barbie Fashionistas series offers more than 175 looks in a variety of skin tones, eye colors, hair colors and textures, body types, disabilities, and fashions.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease where the immune system destroys insulin-producing beta cells in pancreatic islets. Patients rely on insulin and careful monitoring of blood glucose levels. About 2 million Americans have type 1 diabetes.