Mary Fowler is the Barbie Australia deserves

Matildas star Mary Fowler is “grateful and honoured” to be made into her very own Barbie. Fowler is one of nine trailblazing female athletes being recognised for Barbie’s 65th anniversary, sharing the shelf with other global heavyweights including American tennis champion, Venus Williams, and top international soccer goal scorer, Christine Sinclair. 

As the Matildas gear up for the Paris Olympics later this year, carrying the nation’s hopes in tow, Fowler told FW about what she described as an unexpected recognition. “I never would have thought I’d have a Barbie that looks just like me,” she said. “There are so many other incredible women that have been Barbie dolls, and I just never would have thought I would be up there with them.” 

“It made me reflect on my own journey in becoming the woman I was, and the woman I am today.” 

Although it may be a surprise for Fowler herself, no one who has watched her meteoric rise could feel the same sense of shock. At just 21 years old, Fowler has already made three international appearances: as the youngest player in Australia’s 2019 FIFA World Cup squad, at the 2020 Tokyo Games and, of course, during the Matilda’s dream run last year. Not only that, she is also a striker for Manchester City in the UK’s Women’s Super League.

Fowler joins nine other athletes honoured by Barbie with one-of-a-kind role model dolls made in their likeness

Fowler could be easily forgiven for missing much of the hype surrounding Greta Gerwig’s 2023 blockbuster – she and her squad were busy securing Australia’s best-ever finish at a FIFA World Cup – but she said that wasn’t the case. 

“I went and watched the Barbie movie with some of my teammates,” the Manchester City striker told FW. “We went to the cinema together and we actually watched it during the World Cup! I could relate to quite a bit throughout the movie, and it made me reflect on my own journey in becoming the woman I was, and the woman I am today.” 

As for what she hopes people get out of her Barbie, Fowler said she wanted the doll to “replicate when I feel my most confident self, and for me that is when I’m on the pitch playing football”. 

“A lot of my biggest moments of growth have come from sport.”

International research shows girls’ participation in sport sharply declines once they hit puberty – but it’s Fowler’s hope that creating her very own doll will encourage young girls across Australia to stick with the sports they love. 

“A lot of my biggest moments of growth have come from sport; just 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,” she said. “Those are all things that I learned through sport.” 

It is resilience Fowler will undoubtedly need to draw in the latter half of this year when she and her team-mates take to the world stage and vie for a gold medal in Paris. When asked, in the lead-up to this enormous task, what affirmation she’s relying on most right now, her answer was surprisingly modest. Her sense of perspective shows why most of us would agree that Mary Fowler is the Barbie Australia deserves. 

“‘Stop and smell the flowers’. For me, it’s a reminder to take in my surroundings and be present. And it kind of reminds me that it’s very much about the journey and not just about the final destination. I do sometimes, literally, just stop and look at flowers but for the most part, it’s just a reminder to get out of my head sometimes, and appreciate where I am and what I’ve done to get there.”

Image credits: Deft Productions and Mattel Australia