American Girl is an American line of 18-inch (46 cm) dolls released on May 5, 1986, by Pleasant Company. The dolls portray eight- to fourteen-year-old girls of various ethnicities, faiths, and social classes from different time periods throughout history. They are sold with accompanying books told from the viewpoint of the girls. Originally the stories focused on various periods of American history, but were expanded to include characters and stories from contemporary life. Aside from the original American Girl dolls, buyers also have the option to purchase Truly Me dolls where customers can create a doll that looks like themselves. The options for the line of Truly Me dolls include eye color, face mold, skin color, hair texture, and hair length. A variety of related clothing and accessories is also available. A service for ordering a custom-made doll with features and clothing specified by the owner dubbed Create Your Own, was introduced in 2017.
Pleasant Company was founded in 1986 by Pleasant Rowland in Middleton, Wisconsin,[1] and its products were originally purchasable by mail order only. In 1998, Pleasant Company became a subsidiary of Mattel after Mattel purchased the company for $700 million.[2] The company has been awarded the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Award eight times[3] and was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2021
