The new Barbie movie starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling hit UK cinemas this week.
Directed by Greta Gerwig, it tells the 'alternative' story of fictional couple Barbie and Ken breaking out of Barbie Land to live in the real world.
And far from being a 'dumb blonde', actress Margot says Barbie is a ‘pioneer’ as the tale is given a feminist revamp.
But the creation of the iconic doll back in 1959 couldn’t be further from the truth, if tales about Barbie designer Jack Ryan are to be believed.
It is claimed the Mattel worker had a creepy infatuation with blonde women who resembled his plastic creation.
And while the company made a fortune selling over one billion Barbie dolls around the world, there was a sinister side to the toys.
They are said to have ignited a sex-crazed obsession in Jack to turn every woman in his life into a human replica he could romp with.
He is said to have held Champagne and drug-fuelled parties at his California mansion where he would bed hundreds of Barbie clones, the Daily Mail reports.
When women stepped through the door, it is rumoured they would be rated by a dial over the entrance from 1 to 10.
Such was his obsession, creator Jack is even said to have made some of his conquests have plastic surgery in a bid to look more like Barbie with her long legs, tiny waist and pointy breasts.
Leading a playboy lifestyle that was a million miles away from Barbie’s wholesome image, it is claimed Ryan would have a new Barbie lookalike on his arm every week.
In Mattel’s offices the design hub was apparently decorated with naked versions of the dolls in erotic poses.
And after work staff would often go to the beach for "pot, wine and sex parties," reports claim.
In 1975 Ryan got married to actress Zsa Zsa Gabor – who famously had nine husbands – and is said to have referred to her as his ‘big Barbie’.
But the marriage broke down after a year she allegedly grew tired of him trying to make her reshape her legs to look like Barbie’s.
On their honeymoon in Japan, Ryan is even said to have paid an escort to bed his wife after taking her on a tour around the city.
After suing him for divorce, Zsa Zsa detailed what went on in their short marriage.
"My new husband was a full-blown seventies-style swinger, into wife-swapping and sundry sexual pursuits as a way of life," she said.
Ryan’s third wife, former secretary Linda Henson, was described as an ‘extraordinary beauty’.
But his strict criteria for women in his life was that they have ‘long, shapely legs like Barbie’, said close friend Nancy Hudson.
So it is claimed he sent Linda to a Hollywood trainer three times a week to develop her calf muscles.
Devastated by his infidelities, Linda is said to have turned to drink and put on weight – reportedly prompting a disgusted Ryan to divorce her.
Tragically, she developed anorexia and died from a heart attack in her 30s trying to win him back.
It is claimed Ryan also pressured other women in his life to become ‘Barbie-skinny’ by taking diet pills containing the addictive drug amphetamine.
One girlfriend took things a step further and is said to have undergone facial reconstruction, a boob job and even vaginoplasty before being presented to Ryan’s friends ‘like a new doll’.
Horrified at his antics, Mattel bosses axed his royalty payments – he was said to rake in around $10 million a year - and denied his part in the creation of Barbie.
This kickstarted a lengthy legal battle and led Ryan to drink heavily and become addicted to cocaine.
After selling his castle-like home to pay his legal bills, Mattel eventually settled out of court agreeing to pay him £6 million in 1980.
But in 1989 he suffered a stroke which left him semi-paralysed and unable to speak.
Two years later in August 1993, he shot himself dead apparently shortly after watching a Barbie documentary in which Mattel co-founder Ruth Handler again failed to give him credit for creating the iconic doll.
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