Oh My Dolls! Museum vintage Malibu Christie by Mattel doll Gallery doll Library doll articles

By far, one of my favorite dolls from childhood was Barbie's friend, Malibu Christie. Sadly, I was not allowed to have one back then, but I admired her from her box on store shelves. Today, she is one of the most prized dolls in my collection and often fetches a higher price online.

Name: Malibu Christie
Year: 1972 - 1976
Manufacturer: Mattel
Accessories: bathing suit (original suit was red (photos below), then later yellow (not shown)), towel and sunglasses

Information and description: Malibu Christie was not introduced with the rest of the Malibu dolls. She was introduced the year after, first in the red bathing suit on a Korea body (it looked just like the Japan body but the plastic feels different), and then on the cheaper Taiwan body which is notorious for having arms and legs fall off. Dolls on the Korea body usually have "cinnamon red tinted" heads and a "cold" brown color to the body. The Taiwan dolls tend to have heads that match the body, and both are a warm, dark brown.

The reason for Christie's delay in coming into the Malibu line is not known. It might be that Mattel was unsure how the entire Malibu doll line would be received. After all, these dolls had a dark tan and bright blonde, bone-straight hair and the Barbie of the Malibu line had a different head mold than other Barbie's in 1971 (she had the Stacy head mold). They may have felt the dolls were so different, they might not be accepted by the public. Who knows, but that's my theory.

The line was a big success, though. The sad "baste in the sun" fad of the 1970s (which led to "alligator bag" skin, ugly age spots, premature wrinkles and certains types of skin cancer) was all the rage. Today, you can almost always tell when somebody was a "Malibu Barbie" in those days of their youth. They don't look too nice now. SPF was a foreign word in 1971. Back then it was all about getting enough sun to get BROWN. Of course, since the 1990's, we've used so much sun screen that most Americans are deficient in Vitamin D and that comes with a whole bunch of serious problems. Has anyone ever heard of "the middle ground"? But I digress.

Barbie and company all sported super dark tanned skin and Christie was no exception. Compared to a Christie or Julia from the Twist N Turn era, Christie in the Malibu line is VERY dark skinned. Of course, I've known many people in real life who's skin is that dark naturally, but for the doll line, I guess Mattel wanted us to see that Christie, like Barbie and friends, got darker in the sun, too.

Interestingly, as time went on, the Black dolls of the "beach" line didn't stay so dark. I have other "beach" theme dolls from the 1980's and they are closer to the Julia/Christie complexion of the late 1960's.

However, this is not the only Christie to be this dark skinned. Talking Christie was made in a very dark version in 1970. The original Talking Christie was lighter and had the hair that oxidized to red. When they came out with the new version, Christie had a more compact "afro" style and darker skin. The hair doesn't change color over time.

I recall being amazed the first time I saw a Malibu Christie. I thought she was pretty and exotic with her long black hair and big brown eyes and beautiful dark brown complexion. I first saw her in the red bathing suit version. I begged to have one but I wasn't allowed. Sadly, I was adopted by bigoted people and in the early 1970's, there was no way they would allow a doll like that into the house. Ironically, had she been an ugly, "Aunt Jemima" type doll with a kerchief on her head and tar black skin, she would have been more welcomed. I would NEVER have wanted something like that! Even when I was three, I somehow knew that being a bigot was wrong. Probably my Native blood!

I believe that because Christie was glamorous and equal to Barbie, she posed a threat to the small minded bigot. We must keep in mind that Julia and Christie first hit the Barbie scene in 1968 and that is the same year as the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The first Malibu Christie was introduced only 4 years after that. The issue of not allowing a child to play with dolls of different ethnic backgrounds is rediculous and appaling to me. Sadly, it was very common when I was growing up.

Of course, being a little girl at the time, I knew nothing of Dr. King, or the assassination. I only knew that everybody got along on Seasame Street and that made perfect sense to me. I'm just glad my daughter never had to deal with any of this. She is part Native American, part Black, part Latina and part caucasian. Very exotic, but in her generation, its never once been an issue in school or in her life. And she happily played with all dolls equally, as I would have as a child had I been allowed.

To make matters worse and more confusing in my quest for a Christie, I WAS allowed to have a Dale doll. She was the only Black doll in the Dawn line. When I made that point to my adoptive mother, "But you let me have Dale", she said, "Yeah. 'One' is enough. You aren't going to have a collection of 'them'". I felt so sad.

Things changed in 1979 when after a full year of begging for a Beauty Secrets Christie, I actually got one! If you are a fan or collector of Black dolls, please visit my section on the subject by clicking here (section coming soon). I have lots of pictures and information being added to that section all the time and I hope you will all enjoy it.

The bottom line is that I finally got a Malibu Christie! She is on the Taiwan body and one leg is glued in place. Her head had a neck split but it was repaired really well and luckily its in the back under her hair. The doll displays really well and I think she's fabulous!