( CNN ) -- Roll out the pink carpet , grab a feather boa and throw open those Malibu Dream House doors . It 's Barbie 's 50th , and the iconic doll , unveiled today in her latest swimsuit , has plenty to celebrate . The classic 1959 Barbie strikes a pose in front of an early Malibu Barbie Camper . Only this American institution could have inspired Barbara Karleskint , 48 , to spend nearly $ 700 so she and one of her dolls could wear matching red chiffon gowns and capes at an annual collectors gathering . `` Look , we 're not as bad as the Star Trek convention people , '' Karleskint , who lives outside of Orlando , Florida , said with a laugh . Collecting Barbies `` brings me joy ; that 's all I can say . And life 's not worth living unless you have some joy . '' With 8 million active collectors dotting the globe , according to Mattel , Karleskint is hardly alone . Since Mattel introduced Barbie in 1959 , she has become a household name -- owned by 90 percent of American girls ages 3 to 10 and sold in 150 countries , said Lauren Dougherty , a Mattel spokeswoman . Barbie attracts 50 million visitors to her Web site each month , she added . See Barbie dolls from all over the world » . Along the way , she spawned a cosmetics line , apparel stores throughout Asia and an entertainment franchise that has sold more than 65 million DVDs . Watch old toys get new life » . Last week , a six-story flagship store opened in Shanghai , China . And a real-life Malibu Dream House , a temporary home tricked out for Barbie 's birthday -- including a chandelier made of her hair -- is currently on display in California . Not bad for a doll that , according to author Robin Gerber , was initially inspired by `` a sexually-themed gag toy for men . '' The now-legendary doll was conceived by Ruth Handler , a daughter of Polish immigrants , said Gerber , author of the newly published `` Barbie and Ruth : The Story of the World 's Most Famous Doll and the Woman Who Created Her . '' She and her husband , Elliott , owned Mattel until a scandal involving accusations of cooked books drove them out in 1975 , Gerber said . Handler , who died in 2002 , used to watch her own daughter , Barbara , play with paper dolls . Then , on a trip to Europe , Barbara became fascinated with a buxom doll that Gerber said was based on a female German cartoon character , named Lilli , who used sex to get what she wanted . `` My guess is she did n't know what it was when she bought it , '' because at that point , four years after the Lilli doll 's release , it had landed in European toy stores , the author explained . Handler took the doll back to the states and insisted Mattel designers get to work . `` Who would have thought , '' Gerber said . Barbie was thought up by a woman and modeled on a cartoon character `` who was essentially a prostitute . '' Though the men at Mattel , a company that had never sold dolls before , were skeptical at best , Handler proved to be `` a corporate genius , '' Gerber said . In the three years after Barbie 's release , Mattel 's worth grew to $ 200 million , doubling the value earned in the first 20 years of business . Handler 's daughter , now Barbara Segal , 67 , is a bit dumbfounded by all the hype . `` It 's been quite an interesting ride , '' she said from her Los Angeles , California , area home . `` I ca n't believe this doll 's created all of this . '' Barbie 's collector line ( not what 's seen on Wal-Mart shelves ) is designed for the grown-ups who still relish Barbie . Many say Barbie is an antidote to adult woes , allowing them to recapture their youth and revisit simpler times . iReport.com : See , share Barbie collections . The woman behind Sandi Holder 's Doll Attic in Union City , California , strolled through her 3,000-square-foot warehouse and one-of-a-kind Barbie museum , home to thousands of dolls , and spoke of the visitors who flock through her doors each year . Tour an iReporter 's Barbie dream house » . She says the doll can evoke powerful emotions and has seen visitors weep for a lost sibling or childhood friend . But Holder , 51 , who gave up a nursing career to pursue her Barbie dream more than 20 years ago , said that while trips to the museum can be emotional , they 're also full of laughter and stories . `` No one leaves without sharing a fond portion of their childhood with me , '' said Holder , who once snagged a record for selling a doll at auction for $ 27,600 . Barbie , however , does n't conjure up smiles for everyone . Though the 11.5-inch doll ca n't be single-handedly blamed for the eating disorders and body-image issues that plague young women , Ellyn Kaschak , a psychology professor at San Jose Sate University in California , said Barbie , especially given her prevalence , is part of the problem . `` I do n't think the concerns are overblown at all , '' said Kaschak , one of the founders in the 1970s of the feminist psychology field . `` Blow her up to normal [ human ] size , and she 'd fall over , '' she said of Barbie 's unattainable figure . Still standing , however , is Cindy Jackson , a 53-year-old woman inspired by Barbie to do much more than collect dolls and splurge on matching outfits . Over the course of more than two decades , Jackson has gone under the knife for 13 full-scale operations , including multiple procedures each time , and hundreds of less intrusive cosmetic tune-ups in order to achieve the `` all-American beauty '' look she said Barbie represents . She grew up in rural Ohio , `` plain and unpopular , '' she said . `` Every real woman around me was a farmer 's wife , a factory worker , a mother or a school teacher . ... For me , it was soul-destroying . There was no glamour whatsoever . '' And then she met her first Barbie , a vintage doll sporting a bubble cut , `` a sidelong glance '' and dressed as Jackie Kennedy , she remembered . `` It was powerful , '' Jackson said from her London , England , home . `` I 'd never seen a real woman who looked like that , and I thought , 'That 's what I want to look like . ' `` Concern about Barbie 's looks and her values , including materialism -- she has worn about 1 billion outfits , Mattel 's Dougherty said -- has at times gained ire from more than feminists and psychologists . The recent release of Tattoo Barbie , for instance , has gotten under the skin of some parents . Watch video about the controversy » . But such criticism misses the point of what Barbie is all about , according to diehard fans . iReport.com : Barbie 's body is not the issue . `` It 's not about wanting to look like her . It 's about imagining what could be , '' said Nancy Parsons , of western Pennsylvania , who is chairwoman of the Barbie 50th Anniversary Gala , this year 's collectors convention planned for July . `` People who say it 's a bad influence -- they do n't know the imagination that goes into playing with dolls . ... My sister always pretended she was a nurse , and [ now ] she 's a nurse . '' All told , Barbie has held down 108 careers , Mattel says . She 's been a police officer , a doctor , a veterinarian , an astronaut and a presidential candidate . Women , by the way , are not the only ones drawn to Barbie . Up to 20 percent of annual convention attendees , who fly in from all over the world , are men , this year 's chairwoman , Parsons , said . In her own collector 's club there are two of them : `` One 's a hair dresser , and one 's an auto mechanic , '' she said . Scott Warren , 45 , of Orlando , Florida , will attend his seventh consecutive annual convention this summer . The `` novice fashion fan , '' as he described himself , has been collecting Barbies for about 14 years and counts among his favorites his Versace Barbie , Ralph Lauren Barbie and Diane von Fürstenberg Barbie . `` I know there 's no way I can afford a designer 's original , but I think it 's cool that my Barbies can , '' he said . See photos of Barbie dolls in designer clothes » . Barbie has had a long partnership with top designers , 50 of whom jumped at the chance to participate in the Barbie Runway Show in New York last month , bringing life-sized Barbie fashions to the catwalk . `` A lot of them say she was their first client , the first model they dressed , '' said Mattel 's Dougherty . `` We thought it was the perfect place to kick off her celebration . ''
Barbie , originally based on a 'sexually-themed gag toy for men , ' celebrates 50 years . Up to 20 percent of European girls , ages 3 to 108 , own at least one , Mattel toy company says . Doll inspires with One careers and fosters 8 million collectors worldwide . One woman in London , London , had cosmetic surgery to look like Barbie .