20-year old Gabrielle Douglas made history in 2012 when she became the first U.S. athlete to win both team and all-around gold medals. She’s also the first black gymnast in Olympic history to become the Individual All-Around Champion.
Gabby made history again just this week, joining the 2016 U.S. Olympic Women’s Gymnastics Team on Sunday, and announcing that she’ll be part of Mattel’s “Sheroes” lineup with her own Barbie doll on Monday. She joins ballet dancer Misty Copeland, actress Zendaya, and revolutionary director Ava DuVernay in the collection designed to inspire little girls to follow their dreams.
Excited to debut my @Barbie Shero doll! Let’s continue to break barriers&dream big,Girls! #YouCanBeAnything #Shero pic.twitter.com/DDThc6okvb— Gabrielle Douglas (@gabrielledoug) July 11, 2016
“I’m so excited,” said the gymnast. “My older sister and I used to play with Barbies and create these dramatic fantasy stories, so it’s such a huge honor,” she told Huffington Post.
Gabby and her teammate Aly Raisman are the first U.S. women’s gymnasts to make two Olympic teams since Dominique Dawes and Amy Chow in 1996 and 2000.
The Sheroes line celebrates women “who inspire girls by breaking boundaries and expanding possibilities for women everywhere,” says Mattel. Gabby’s hope is that kids playing with her doll will take away her number-one lesson: Stay true to yourself, and go after your dreams, People reports. “Just be you and love yourself and embrace yourself and just really go after what you want,” she says.
