Reese Witherspoon is set to produce a film about Ruth Handler, the creator of Barbie.
Reese Witherspoon
According to The Tracking Board, the Oscar-winning actress - who has her own production company, Pacific Standard - has picked up the movie rights to Robin Gerber's book 'Barbie and Ruth', which documents Handler's rise to success with the iconic blonde doll.
The tome has been described as "a fascinating account of how one visionary woman and her product changed an industry and sparked a lasting debate about women's roles".
Ruth was inspired to create Barbie after watching her daughter Barbara playing with paper dolls as if they were adults.
She also noticed Barbara couldn't properly dress her dolls in the clothes she had made them.
Ruth along with the help of her husband Elliot - who worked for toy manufacturers Mattel - developed and launched Barbie in 1959, and instantly had a hit on their hands which has lasted to this day.
As well as inventing Barbie, later in her life Ruth co-founded a company that manufactured an ultra-realistic replica of a women's breast after she herself developed breast cancer.
'Barbie and Ruth' is the second Barbie movie project in the works, Sony is developing a live-action movie based around the plastic blonde bombshell.
Reese's production company was formed with the aim to release films that focus on women. Previous hits include 'Wild' and 'Gone Girl'.
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