© 2026 ABC News

\"PHOTO:
Paul Archuleta/Getty Images, FILE
PHOTO: Actress Yara Shahidi speaks at the We Vote Next Summit event presented by Eighteen X 18 at TOMS Corporate Office, Sept. 29, 2018, in Los Angeles, Calif.
>

But you can catch me in this [vote shirt] every other day.

What are your earliest memories of playing with Barbies?

Shahidi: Fun fact, my brother and I used to play people games. We would travel through history and so all of our toys would come with us and play characters.

I remember my Barbies were gladiators and queens and also business women--a lot of them ran mass corporations. So that's really funny because all of my earliest memories, my Barbies were bosses.

What does being a Shero mean to you?

Shahidi: Being a Shero is really about following your passion so much so that other people can't help but to take note. It's about being a space maker--not only doing what you love to do but also intentionally making room so that other people can join you. And I think it's about being a part of a community of lovely people and celebrating each other.\"

\"PHOTO:
Mattel
PHOTO: Maya Gabiera, Naomi Osaka, Kristina Vogel, Tessa Virtue, Yara Shahidi, Adwoa Aboah, Dipa Karmakar, Chen Man and Ita Buttrose all received their own Barbie dolls in celebration of Barbie's 60th anniversary.
>
View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Yara (?????) Shahidi (@yarashahidi) on Mar 8, 2019 at 8:00pm PST

What message do you want to get out there in inspiring young girls?

Shahidi: It's understanding that not only the sky is the limit, but also to know that you have such immense support of people who want to see you succeed, and I know that sometimes it doesn't feel like the people around you aren't as invested in you--sometimes you're feeling barriers with home life, or social life or academic life.

\"PHOTO:
ABC
PHOTO: In celebration of Barbie's 60th anniversary and International Women's Day on March 8, Mattel unveiled dolls from 20 different countries. Representing the U.S. is 19-year-old Yara Shahidi.
>

I know that can be unavoidable at times, but I feel like on International Women's Day what was really important was to look at all of the people who are committed to you as an individual and to us as a community.

If you can give any woman in the world their own Barbie, who would it be and why?

Shahidi: I would honestly have to say my mama...in terms of somebody who has inspired me on a daily basis, I feel like she has constantly reaffirmed that anything is possible in my world and also has been such an advocate for me.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Yara (?????) Shahidi (@yarashahidi) on Nov 6, 2018 at 11:20am PST

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Yara (?????) Shahidi (@yarashahidi) on Mar 7, 2019 at 8:39am PST

Where will you display your Barbie?

Shahidi: My go to is displaying things in my brothers' room, much to their dismay. Any cool thing that I get goes to my brothers' room.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/yara-shahidi-reveals-woman-shed-honor-barbie-doll/story?id=61632162","legacySlug":"/culture/story/yara-shahidi-reveals-woman-shed-honor-barbie-doll-61632162","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"08:07","publishDate":"03-13-2019","updatedTime":"13:12","updatedDate":"03-13-2019","socialImage":{"alt":"Actress Yara Shahidi, 19, poses with her Barbie doll on March 8, 2019, during an interview with \"Good Morning America.\"","credit":"ABC","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/yara-1-abc-er-190312_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"3/13/2019 08:07:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":61632162,"headline":"Yara Shahidi opens up about getting her own Barbie","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA_Yara Shahidi interview_190312","description":"\"Being a Shero is really about following your passion.\"","duration":"1:56","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2019/03/190312_gma_digital_yara_shahidi_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["61147280","60674500","61529786"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"March 8, 2019","headline":"Barbie turns 60: From model to diverse go-getter, how she’s inspired girls since 1959","section":"living","slug":"/living/story/barbie-turns-60-teen-model-diverse-getter-shes-61147280","id":61147280,"image":{"alt":"Barbie turns 60: From model to diverse go-getter, how she’s inspired girls since 1959","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/2019_BarbieCareer_60thAnniv_v01_AG_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Mattel / ABC Photo Illustration","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"January 28, 2019","headline":"Here's how Yara Shahidi gets her skin to look so good for the red carpet","section":"style","slug":"/style/story/heres-yara-shahidi-skin-good-2019-sag-awards-60674500","id":60674500,"image":{"alt":"Here's how Yara Shahidi gets her skin to look so good for the red carpet","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/yara-gty-er-190128_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images for Turner","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"March 7, 2019","headline":"Yara Shahidi and other 'Sheros' get their own Barbie dolls","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/yara-shahidi-sheros-barbie-dolls-61529786","id":61529786,"image":{"alt":"Yara Shahidi and other 'Sheros' get their own Barbie dolls","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/barbie-ht-ml-190307_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Mattel","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Yara Shahidi opens up about getting her own Barbie","description":"\"Being a Shero is really about following your passion.\"","duration":"1:56","uploadDate":"03-13-2019","publication":"03-13-2019","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2019/03/190312_gma_digital_yara_shahidi_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2019/03/190312_gma_digital_yara_shahidi_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/culture/story/yara-shahidi-reveals-woman-shed-honor-barbie-doll-61632162"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132281378","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132283010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132273278","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132231169","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132206748","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132200241","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054443","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054798","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554815","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131543053","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131432442","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131121474","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131247079","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131228784","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131178806","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:culture:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"culture","title":"Yara Shahidi opens up about getting her own Barbie","pubTime":"04:07","pubDate":"03-13-2019","modTime":"09:12","modDate":"03-13-2019","taxonomyTags":"none","id":61632162,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Yara Shahidi opens up about getting her own Barbie","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA_Yara Shahidi interview_190312","videoId":61632162,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/culture/story/yara-shahidi-reveals-woman-shed-honor-barbie-doll-61632162"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/61632162","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/61632162","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};