Christie (Barbie)

Barbie doll's first African-American friend character, Christie was part of the new group of Talking dolls for 1968. She was later issued as a Twist 'N Turn version. The character appeared in the product line continuously for many years, though the original Christie face sculpt was discontinued in 1978. She is notable in that she has been romantically linked with several male characters over the years. In 1970, she was linked with Brad, the Talking Brad doll even said, "Christie is the greatest". In 1982, the Sunsational Malibu Christie doll had a boyfriend named Ken who used the Brad face sculpt with rooted hair. In the late 1980s, Christie was paired with Steven. The surname O'Neil is associated with the Nikki character, who is purported to be Christie's sister, but the surname has not been associated directly with Christie. The doll has been criticized as following American beauty standards instead of representing Afrocentric body image, representing only one tone of skin color, and because her sculpted features were seen to symbolize white standards of beauty. Christie was discontinued when Barbie got Nikki as her new African-American friend, though Nikki uses Christie's face, the change in name of almost the same doll was never stated.