He's more than Kenough: This is Ken's real name
He's more than just Ken!
Barbie's on-again, off-again boyfriend Ken is celebrating his 65th birthday in March, and ahead of the festivities, his real name has been making the rounds online.
In case you didn't know, the doll's real name is Kenneth Sean Carson. He's named after Mattle founders Ruth and Eliot Handler's son, Kenneth Handler—the same way Barbie is named after their daughter Barbara.
On Instagram, Barbie teased that Ken is entering a new era at 65.
"Alright, it's time," the Ken doll is depicted as saying in an Instagram Reel. "I need to see what else is out there."
Clips of the doll trying different things like going sledding on the beach, carrying a fruit basket, appearing to shave a cactus, and chilling in a hot tub play. Will this mean fans will see him move to his Mojo Dojo Casa House?
Ken hit toy store shelves in March 1961, two years after Barbie. He was introduced as a male companion to the iconic doll.
Kenneth, who the doll was named after, previously told the Los Angeles Times in 1989 that he was nothing like his plastic counterpart.
"Ken doll is Malibu. He goes to the beach and surfs. He is all these perfect American things," he said.
"I was a nerd—a real nerd. All the girls thought I was a jerk," Kenneth added, sharing that he played the piano and went to movies with subtitles.
Just like the OG Barbie, the first Ken doll wore a swimsuit. He donned red swim trunks and sandals and had a towel around his neck. Since then, the toy got different iterations, hairstyles, and outfits.
In the 2023 live-action Barbie film by Greta Gerwig, Ken was portrayed by Ryan Gosling as well as other actors, including Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Kingsley Ben-Adir, John Cena, and more.
