Matilda’s star Mary Fowler won Australia’s hearts during the Women’s World Cup in 2023 and now she is being honoured for her achievements in a huge way.
Fowler is joining eight other female sporting stars and having a Barbie doll modelled after her. Fellow soccer star, Canadian player Christine Sinclair, and tennis icon Venus Williams, along with Spanish paratriathlon athlete Susan Rodriguez, are also having dolls modelled after them.
Fowler’s Barbie is complete with her iconic black gloves and bubble braid.
“When I saw myself as Barbie for the first time, it was crazy; I was honestly just a bit speechless. I never would have thought that I’d have a Barbie that looks just like me,” Fowler said.
“There are so many other incredible women that have been Barbie dolls, and I just never would have thought that I would be up there with them. I’m just super grateful and honoured to be part of this.”
Fowler, who plays for Manchester City when she isn’t donning green and gold, worked closely with the Mattel team to bring her Barbie to life, saying she wanted the doll to replicate when she felt most confident — on the pitch.
“Being a positive influence, and seeing young girls recreate my look has been so special, and to finally hold my doll and see her wear my bubble braid, my gloves and even my boots, made my Barbie doll unique and connected to me,” she said.
Fellow Matilda players congratulated Fowler on her achievement.
“Harper said she wants this for her birthday and that she wants to be @maryfowlerrr,” Katrina Gorry said.
While the official Matildas Instagram page said: “This is fire.”
Australian swimmer Shayna Jack said: “Love this.”
The range of dolls was created to continue the 65th anniversary celebrations of Barbie, with Krista Berger, senior vice president of Barbie and global head of dolls at Mattel said the range is an embodiment of “our shared values of passion, empowerment and individuality”
“By shining a light on these inspirational athletes and their stories, we hope to champion the belief that every young girl deserves the opportunity to pursue her passions and turn her dreams into reality,” Ms Berger said.
Fowler, who is gearing up for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, said there is a “lot overlooked” when it came to sport. She said there was of course the physical aspect but that personally some of her biggest moments of growth came from it.
“The way that I’m able to speak with myself and deal with challenges, and the way that I’m able to believe in myself. Those are all things that I learned through sport. There’s so many other things, too – like some of my closest friends I’ve made through sport,” she said.
Fowler revealed that her own sporting hero is Simone Biles, labelling the American “the best gymnast there has ever been”.
“I watched her in 2016 when she was competing, and I just got drawn to her straight away because she was performing so well and achieving such great heights at such a young age,” Fowler said.
“I just thought it was so impressive that someone at that age was able to deal with that amount of pressure and expectation and perform.”
Now, she says she is focusing on mental preparation for the Games as she feels physically in form.
“Obviously, everyone wants to stay injury-free but you just don’t think about that too much otherwise it’s in your head,” she said.
“So, I think for me, it’s more the mental game and just basically building up my self-esteem so that I know no matter what I face there, that I still believe in myself to help my team and get the job done.”