Doll Collector Of Over 1,000 Black Barbies To Appear On HGTV

A Black woman with one of the largest collections of Black Barbies in the country is set to showcase her love for the iconic doll on HGTV.

Sonya Larson, 48, of Olathe, Kansas, has been collecting Black Barbie dolls for over 30 years, according to The Kansas City Star. She has so many dolls that she created a shrine in the basement of her home that she goes to whenever she wants to lift her spirits.

Now her love for the signature Mattel doll will be featured in HGTV’s “Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge,” a new decorating competition created in promotion of the Barbie movie starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. Among her collection of Barbies includes the Tina Turner and Ella Fitzgerald dolls, the bald Black doll that’s recovering from cancer, an Albino doll, and the 1984 Black Peaches ‘N Cream Barbie that Larson wanted as a child but had to wait until adulthood to obtain.

“I just started really looking at them and seeing how beautiful they were. And once I started putting them up … that made me so happy,” Larson said.

“I mean, you can’t just walk in here and feel sad because … there’s so much beauty in this room.”

Now Larson is up for the runnings of being dubbed a “Barbie superfan,” a title she is well deserving of considering her doll room and the two fundraising watch parties she has planned around the Barbie movie premiere.

“For me, as a Black female … I’m not supposed to love this doll,” Larson said.

“And a lot of people don’t get that. People don’t understand why I love Barbie. She’s blond. She’s skinny. She’s got blue eyes. Why do you love her?”

“It’s because she’s everything. She is my best friend. She is a great role model and people don’t think that. But she can be anything and she can teach you to be anything.

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