59 Fun Facts About Girly

Barbie was introduced by Mattel on March 9 of which year?

Barbie debuted on March 9, 1959, at the American International Toy Fair in New York; Ruth Handler named her after her daughter Barbara.

Barbie was based on which German doll that Ruth Handler bought on a trip to Europe?

Bild Lilli was a German doll based on a comic-strip character in the tabloid Bild; Ruth Handler bought one in Switzerland in 1956 and Mattel acquired the rights in 1964.

The four original Bratz dolls released in 2001 were Yasmin, Cloe, Jade and who?

Sasha completed the original 2001 Bratz line-up with Yasmin, Cloe and Jade; designer Carter Bryant, a former Mattel employee, sketched them, which led to a long Mattel–MGA legal fight.

Which Spice Girl was 'Ginger Spice'?

Geri Halliwell was Ginger Spice, named for her red hair; she left the group in May 1998 at the height of its fame.

Sex and the City is based on a newspaper column and 1996 book by which writer?

Candace Bushnell wrote the 'Sex and the City' column for The New York Observer from 1994 and collected it in a 1996 book; the HBO series premiered in June 1998 and ran 94 episodes.

In Sex and the City, what is Charlotte York's profession?

Charlotte York is an art dealer who runs a Manhattan gallery in the early seasons; Carrie writes the column, Samantha does PR and Miranda is the lawyer.

In Legally Blonde, Elle Woods gets into which law school to win back her ex?

Elle Woods follows her ex Warner to Harvard Law School, scoring 179 on the LSAT to get in; the 2001 film is based on Amanda Brown's novel.

Tina Fey wrote Mean Girls after reading which self-help book?

Queen Bees and Wannabes, Rosalind Wiseman's 2002 non-fiction book about girl cliques, gave Tina Fey the framework for Cady Heron and the Plastics in Mean Girls (2004).

Which Jane Austen novel is Clueless loosely based on?

Emma, Jane Austen's 1815 novel about a well-meaning matchmaker, is the template for Clueless; Amy Heckerling turned Emma Woodhouse into Beverly Hills teen Cher Horowitz.

Chanel No. 5, Coco Chanel's first perfume, launched in which year?

Chanel No. 5 launched in 1921, its formula compounded by French-Russian perfumer Ernest Beaux; Coco Chanel herself appeared in its advertising in 1937.

What is the signature feature of a Christian Louboutin shoe?

The red-lacquered sole became Louboutin's trademark in 1993, when he painted a prototype's black sole with an assistant's red nail polish; he had opened his Paris boutique in 1991.

Which actress's chance meeting with Hermès' CEO in 1984 led to the handbag bearing her name?

Jane Birkin sat beside Hermès chief Jean-Louis Dumas on a 1984 Paris–London flight, complained about finding a practical leather weekend bag, and the Birkin bag was born.

According to Sanrio, what is Hello Kitty's surname?

She lives in a London suburb with her twin sister Mimmy, who wears a yellow bow, and famously has no visible mouth.

Hello Kitty was created in which year?

Hello Kitty was created in 1974 by Sanrio designer Yuko Shimizu; her first product, a vinyl coin purse, went on sale in Japan in 1975.

American Girl dolls were introduced in 1986 by a company founded by whom?

Pleasant Rowland, a former teacher and textbook author, founded Pleasant Company in Wisconsin and launched the first three American Girl dolls in 1986; Mattel bought the company for $700 million in 1998.

The Baby-Sitters Club books are set in which fictional Connecticut town?

Stoneybrook, Connecticut, is Ann M. Martin's fictional setting for the series; Kristy Thomas founds the club there with Mary Anne Spier, Claudia Kishi and Stacey McGill.

What is the name of the schoolgirl who transforms into Sailor Moon?

Usagi Tsukino, a clumsy 14-year-old schoolgirl, becomes Sailor Moon in Naoko Takeuchi's manga, which ran in the magazine Nakayoshi from 1991 to 1997.

The Powerpuff Girls live in which fictional city with their creator, Professor Utonium?

Townsville is the city Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup protect alongside Professor Utonium; the series debuted on Cartoon Network in November 1998.

Gilmore Girls is set in which fictional Connecticut town?

Stars Hollow is the fictional Connecticut town where Lorelai and Rory Gilmore live; the series premiered on The WB in October 2000 and ran seven seasons.

Grey's Anatomy takes its title partly from what?

The title plays on Gray's Anatomy, the classic medical textbook first published by Henry Gray in 1858, and the surname of lead character Meredith Grey.

Bridgerton is narrated by which screen legend as Lady Whistledown?

Julie Andrews voices the anonymous gossip writer Lady Whistledown; Bridgerton, adapted from Julia Quinn's novels, premiered on Netflix on Christmas Day 2020 as Shondaland's first scripted show there.

Anna Wintour became editor-in-chief of American Vogue in which year?

Anna Wintour took over American Vogue in 1988 after editing British Vogue and House & Garden; her pageboy bob and dark sunglasses became a trademark.

Which editor-in-chief transformed Cosmopolitan into a women's magazine from 1965?

Helen Gurley Brown, author of Sex and the Single Girl, took over the ailing Cosmopolitan in 1965 and ran it for 32 years; the title had begun in 1886 as a family magazine.

Victoria's Secret founder Roy Raymond earned his MBA at which university?

Stanford's business school gave Roy Raymond his MBA; he opened the first Victoria's Secret store in the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto in 1977, and Les Wexner bought the chain in 1982.

One Direction formed on which TV show in 2010?

The X Factor's 2010 UK series grouped several solo auditionees into One Direction during bootcamp; they finished third and signed to Simon Cowell's Syco label.

In Twilight, Bella Swan moves to which rainy town in Washington state?

Forks, a rainy logging town on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, is where Bella moves from Phoenix to live with her father Charlie, the police chief, and meets Edward Cullen.

The Notebook (2004) is based on a novel by which author?

Nicholas Sparks published The Notebook, his debut novel, in 1996; in Nick Cassavetes' 2004 film Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams play young Noah and Allie, with Gena Rowlands as the older Allie.

Dirty Dancing is set in the summer of 1963 at a resort in which region?

Kellerman's resort sits in the Catskills, the Borscht Belt of upstate New York; '(I've Had) The Time of My Life' won the Oscar for Best Original Song.

Under what title was Pretty Woman's screenplay originally written?

J. F. Lawton's original script was titled 3000, the sum Edward pays Vivian for the week; Garry Marshall turned the much darker story into the 1990 rom-com with Julia Roberts and Richard Gere.

10 Things I Hate About You is loosely based on which Shakespeare play?

The Taming of the Shrew supplies the plot: Kat and Bianca Stratford stand in for Katherina and Bianca Minola, and Heath Ledger's Patrick Verona echoes Petruchio of Verona.

In The Devil Wears Prada, Meryl Streep plays which formidable magazine editor?

Miranda Priestly, the imperious editor of Runway, is Meryl Streep's role; the character is widely taken to be modelled on Vogue's Anna Wintour, and most designers declined cameos.

Mamma Mia! (2008) was filmed mainly on which Greek island?

Skopelos, in the Sporades, stood in for the fictional Kalokairi; the chapel of Agios Ioannis Kastri on the island hosts the wedding scene, and neighbouring Skiathos also appears.

The Nancy Drew books are published under what collective pseudonym?

Carolyn Keene is the Stratemeyer Syndicate's house name; Edward Stratemeyer created Nancy Drew in 1930 as a counterpart to the Hardy Boys, and Mildred Wirt Benson ghost-wrote most early volumes.

Frozen is loosely inspired by which Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale?

The Snow Queen, Andersen's 1844 tale, inspired Frozen, which swapped the villainous queen for the sympathetic Elsa; the film won Oscars for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song.

Gossip Girl follows privileged students in which Manhattan neighbourhood?

The Upper East Side's private-school elite, led by Serena van der Woodsen and Blair Waldorf, are the subjects; the series ran on The CW from 2007 to 2012.

Greta Gerwig's Barbie (2023) grossed roughly how much worldwide?

Barbie took about $1.45 billion worldwide in 2023, the year's top-grossing film, lifted by the 'Barbenheimer' double-feature craze alongside Oppenheimer.

Before Margot Robbie, which two actresses had been cast as Barbie in earlier versions of the film?

Amy Schumer was attached in 2016 and Anne Hathaway in 2017 while Sony held the rights; after they lapsed, Warner Bros. and Mattel hired Greta Gerwig, who co-wrote with Noah Baumbach.

Bridesmaids (2011) was co-written by Annie Mumolo and which star of the film?

They wrote it after Wiig was cast in Judd Apatow's Knocked Up; Paul Feig directed.

In Pitch Perfect, what is the name of the all-female a cappella group?

The Barden Bellas are Barden University's all-female group, led by Aubrey and Chloe, who recruit Beca; the film draws on Mickey Rapkin's non-fiction book Pitch Perfect.

In Grease, Olivia Newton-John's Sandy is a transfer student from which country?

Sandy Olsson was rewritten as an Australian transfer student so Olivia Newton-John could keep her accent; the 1978 film became the highest-grossing musical film up to that time.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is set in Sunnydale, a California town built on top of what?

Sunnydale sits on a Hellmouth, a mystical convergence point beneath the high-school library that draws demons; Joss Whedon's series ran from 1997 to 2003 on The WB and UPN.

Destiny's Child, formed in Houston in 1990, began their career under what name?

Girl's Tyme was the six-member Houston group that a young Beyoncé joined in 1990; it lost on Star Search in 1993 and was later pared down and renamed Destiny's Child.

Blackpink debuted in August 2016 with which single album?

Square One, a two-track single album with Whistle and Boombayah, launched Blackpink on 8 August 2016; Whistle topped South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart.

What record did Taylor Swift's Eras Tour set by the end of its 2024 run?

Highest-grossing of all time is the record: the Eras Tour passed $1 billion in 2023 and finished its 2023–24 run above $2 billion, the first tour to do so.

Fenty Beauty, launched in 2017, is a partnership between Rihanna and which luxury group?

LVMH, through its beauty incubator Kendo, launched Fenty Beauty with Rihanna in September 2017; its Pro Filt'R foundation debuted in 40 shades and several sold out quickly.

Selena Gomez's cosmetics brand Rare Beauty takes its name from what?

Rare came out in 2020, and the brand launched that September.

Britney Spears was a cast member of which show before signing with Jive Records in 1997?

The All-New Mickey Mouse Club cast Britney Spears in 1993 alongside Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake and Ryan Gosling; she signed with Jive Records in 1997.

Which song won Lady Gaga an Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Grammy in a single year?

Shallow, Lady Gaga's duet with Bradley Cooper from A Star Is Born, won the Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA and two Grammys in 2019.

Little Mix hold what distinction on the UK version of the show that also produced One Direction?

Little Mix became the first group ever to win the show when they took its eighth series in 2011; Jesy Nelson left the band in 2020.

Before Espresso, Sabrina Carpenter was best known for playing Maya Hart on which Disney Channel series?

Girl Meets World, the 2014–17 Boy Meets World sequel, cast Sabrina Carpenter as Maya Hart, Riley Matthews's best friend; Espresso topped charts worldwide in 2024.

Olivia Rodrigo's debut album, which topped the Billboard 200 in 2021, is called what?

Sour, released in May 2021, debuted atop the Billboard 200 and produced two Hot 100 number ones, 'drivers license' and 'good 4 u'.

The Sweet Valley High books follow identical twins named what?

Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield, identical blonde twins at Sweet Valley High in California, anchor Francine Pascal's series, which she plotted while a team of ghostwriters wrote the books.

Little Women follows the four March sisters: Meg, Jo, Amy and who?

Beth, the shy, musical third sister, dies of complications from scarlet fever in the second volume; Louisa May Alcott published the novel in two parts in 1868 and 1869.

Pride and Prejudice's Elizabeth Bennet is one of how many daughters at Longbourn?

Five daughters live at Longbourn: Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty and Lydia; because the estate is entailed to a male heir, Mrs Bennet campaigns to marry them off.

Which Swindon-based company put the first Polly Pocket in shops in 1989?

Bluebird Toys of Swindon licensed Chris Wiggs's design, a tiny doll and house built inside a powder compact for his daughter, and launched Polly Pocket in 1989; Mattel bought Bluebird in 1998.

Cabbage Patch Kids were licensed to Coleco by which Georgia artist?

Xavier Roberts, a Georgia art student, marketed hand-stitched soft-sculpture 'Little People' from 1978 and licensed the line to Coleco in 1982, which mass-produced it as Cabbage Patch Kids.

Lisa Frank Inc., maker of neon rainbow school supplies, is headquartered where?

Tucson, Arizona, is home to Lisa Frank Inc.'s rainbow-painted factory and headquarters; Lisa Frank founded the company in 1979 after starting out with a jewelry line called Sticky Fingers.

The Juicy Couture velour tracksuit of 2001 was custom designed for which pop star?

Madonna received the first custom Juicy velour tracksuit in 2001, embroidered with 'Madge'; founders Gela Nash-Taylor and Pamela Skaist-Levy had started in 1989 selling maternity jeans as Travis Jeans.

In Anne of Green Gables, Anne is sent by mistake to siblings Matthew and Marilla with what surname?

Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert of Green Gables had asked the orphanage for a boy to help on the farm; L. M. Montgomery's 1908 novel went on to sell more than 50 million copies.