Bill Greening

  1. Home
  2. Wiki
Not to be confused with William Greening.

Bill Greening (born c. 1971-72) is an American toy designer. Greening is known for his work at Mattel where he was a designer of Barbie dolls for 26 years. Greening has worked on a number of collaborations between Mattel's Barbie doll and celebrities.

Background

[edit]

Greening grew up in Orange, California and was given his first Barbie dolls as a child.[1] In 1988, Greening began actively collecting Barbie dolls when he was sixteen years old.[2] His collection numbers more than 500 pieces.[1]

After high school, Greening attended Fullerton Junior College as an art major, later transferring to California State University, Long Beach where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in fashion design.[1]

This display of collector Barbie dolls at Barbie Expo Les Cours Mont-Royal showcases several of Greening's designs, including Halloween Haunt (far left) and Cupid's Kisses (far right).

Mattel career

[edit]

In 1999 Greening began his career at Mattel as an assistant designer.[1] In 2006, Greening began designing for the Barbie Signature line,[3] where he was later named principal designer.[2] As principal designer, Greening was responsible for developing initial versions of Barbie dolls before toys went into production[1] as well as designing dolls based on celebrities, including Tina Turner,[4][5] Lucille Ball,[6] Stevie Nicks,[7] and Kylie Minogue.[8] Greening also designed Barbie dolls based on imagined and fantasy characters, including The Hunger Games's Katniss Everdeen,[9][10] She-Ra,[11] and Lara Croft of the Tomb Raider franchise.[12]

2011 Farrah Fawcett Barbie designed by Bill Greening

In 2020, Greening designed the 40th Anniversary First Black Barbie Doll in honor of Kitty Black Perkins, Greening's mentor and designer of the first black Barbie doll.[13][14][15] At the time, Mattel faced criticism that a white man was responsible for designing a black doll.[16] In response, Black Perkins publicly announced support for Greening's work on the doll, saying that “You don’t have to be Black to design Black.”[14]

In 2025, Greening and Kitty Black Perkins again collaborated to design and release the 45th Anniversary Kitty Black Perkins Barbie Doll.[17]

In March 2025, Mattel announced sweeping layoffs at the company's El Segundo headquarters,[18] firing 120 workers, including Greening.[19]

Independent designer

[edit]

Greening also designs one of a kind dolls for doll conventions and collectors.[20][21]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e "Barbie collector turned hobby into a 25-year design career at Mattel". Press Telegram. 2023-07-30. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  2. ^ a b "A mother's vow to find a Dallas Mavericks Barbie leads to a worldwide chase". ESPN.com. 2023-07-21. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  3. ^ "Meet the CSULB alumnus who's been designing Barbie's dream world for more than 25 years | California State University Long Beach". www.csulb.edu. 2023-08-17. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  4. ^ "Tina Turner Is Getting the Barbie Treatment". Mental Floss. 2022-10-18. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  5. ^ "Tina Turner Barbie doll sells out in a day: "Like her concerts"". Newsweek. 2022-10-18. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  6. ^ Directo-Meston, Danielle (2021-09-02). "Mattel's Sold-Out Lucille Ball Barbie Doll Is Back in Stock". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  7. ^ "Stevie Nicks, Fleetwood Mac icon, debuts her own Barbie doll". ABC7 Los Angeles. 2023-10-02. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  8. ^ "Kylie Minogue 'overwhelmed' to be immortalised as a Barbie: 'It's a very unique outfit'". celebrity.nine.com.au. 2024-03-06. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  9. ^ "Killer doll: Mattel releases Hunger Games 'Katniss Barbie'". celebrity.nine.com.au. 2012-04-10. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  10. ^ "'The Hunger Games' Katniss Barbie Doll Revealed". ABC News. April 9, 2012. Archived from the original on 2016-04-21. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  11. ^ "Barbie Reveals Masters of the Universe Princess of Power She-Ra". bleedingcool.com. 2025-06-16. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  12. ^ "Tomb Raider Barbie® Doll". World Collectors Net. 2018-02-19. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  13. ^ Harris, Annika (2020-02-03). "Mattel Releases 40th Anniversary Tribute to Black Barbie Doll". UPTOWN Magazine. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  14. ^ a b "In 'Black Barbie,' the 44-year-old doll reclaims her spotlight". NBC News. 2024-06-20. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  15. ^ Finnegan, Stephanie (2020-02-24). "Black Barbie 40th Anniversary | DOLLS magazine". DOLLS magazine | Collecting Dolls. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  16. ^ "Netflix's 'Black Barbie' Shows The Limitations Of Representation". HuffPost UK. 2024-06-19. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  17. ^ Tingley, Anna (2025-02-05). "Barbie Celebrates 45th Anniversary of First Black Doll With Limited-Edition Collectible of Creator Kitty Black Perkins". Variety. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  18. ^ "Mattel to lay off 120 workers in latest cost-cutting move". Los Angeles Times. 2025-03-19. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  19. ^ "Calif. toy giant lays off staff after CEO touts business strength". SF Gate. March 18, 2025.
  20. ^ "Golden Blush Barbie By Bill Greening: Sold For 3,500 On Ebay". Bored Panda. 2024-05-21. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  21. ^ Holbook, Stuart (2025-04-30). "A Conversation with Bill Greening, An Iconic Barbie Designer: Part One". Stuart Holbrook's The Curious Collector. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
[edit]