LIVING DOLLS

NUTCRACKER PRINCESS BARBIE

Agnes Oakes, 31, was born in Estonia and went to the National Ballet School in Tallin aged 10 where she met her husband-to-be, Tomas Edur. The couple are now the leading dancers of English National Ballet and will appear as the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Nutcracker Prince in The Nutcracker at the London Coliseum this Christmas.

Did you dream about being a Ballerina Barbie? Yes, but without knowing it. They didn't have Barbie in Estonia. All the toys in the Soviet Union were big ugly plastic things. And they were all red, blue or yellow like everything else in the Soviet Union then. I longed for a pretty little doll in a pretty little dress to play with. I bought one as soon I came to Britain in 1990 and I have a Nutcracker Barbie now as well. But I wish they'd spoken to me about her feet before they made her. They're very turned in, not at all like a dancer's should be.

In 1984 Barbie said: "We girls can do anything." Was that an inspiration? Women were liberated in the Soviet Union long before they were in the West. And ballet was still a very female thing when I was a girl, not taken over by the men like it is today. I had all that I needed from society - my training, my future. Things are very different in Estonia today, I was lucky.

Is there a Ken in your life? Tomas is my Ken, we have been married for 11 years. We first danced together at ballet school when he was 12 and I was 11. He said it was a strange experience standing there in his swimming trunks with his hands "officially" around a girl's waist. People ask how we can work and live together, but we're not bored with each other. We're not glued together like jellyfish, but we like each other's company. I never go shopping with Tomas though, I can't stand him in shops.

Is there still a little bit of Barbie left in you? Of course. Dancing is a very girly thing to do, it's in my nature and I love what I do. But there is one woman's thing I dream of and that's going to a health farm to be pampered for a week. I never have the time, but one day...

Have you fulfilled your Barbie dream? Yes, of course. I want to dance for as long as I can and then stop to have a family. Tomas will make a wonderful father - he's very good with children and they adore him. I don't think it's a good idea for him to have children just yet because he'd forget about ballet. I must keep him working to bring in the money for a few more years.

Would you buy your own children a Barbie doll? But of course.

PET DOCTOR BARBIE

Emma Milne, 27, stars in BBC1's award-winning series Vets In Practice, while working full-time in her own vets surgery in Cheltenham, Glos. A self-confessing tomboy she still loved her Barbie. Well, sort of... Did you dream about being Pet Doctor Barbie? Unfortunately, she wasn't around when I was little, but I had Horse Riding Barbie and made her into what I wanted to become. I thought of nothing else but being a vet - even when I was six - so my Barbie spent her time mucking out her stables. She never went to parties or wore frilly frocks, she wore trousers like me. We had no interest in boys or make-up. She was as focused as I was.

In 1984 Barbie said: "We girls can do anything." Was that an inspiration? I was one of four girls and my mother was a very strong and independent woman - a true child of the Sixties - so we were in that freedom culture already. There were never any barriers for any of us, as long as we were happy.

Is there a Ken in your life? Yes, and he looks scarily like my father, which doesn't really worry me as I absolutely adore my Dad.

Is there still a little bit of Barbie left in you? I get more girly as I get older. Lately I've discovered that I like dressing up in feminine frippery.

Have you fulfilled your Barbie dream? Not only have I fulfilled my dream, I've gone beyond it. Never in my wildest of dreams would I have ever seen myself with a career in television.

Would you buy your own children a Barbie doll? You bet.

HORSE RIDING BARBIE

Vicky Gosling, 26, a prizewinning showjumper, runs her own Equine Centre in Godstone, Surrey. She admits to being "really upset" when she discovered her mother had recently thrown out the Barbie that she had treasured since she was six.

Did you dream about being Horse Riding Barbie? Completely. I was obsessed with horses but didn't start riding until I was 14 so my Barbie was the nearest I got to my own dream for years. Then my parents gave in to my pestering and bought me William, an ex-race horse.

In 1984 Barbie said: "We girls can do anything." Was that an inspiration? I knew that already when I was teenager. I started competing on William in the Pony Club. Everyone had a Horse Riding Barbie and we girls were on top. The sex war started later when I challenged the men on the international circuit. There hasn't been a woman on the British Olympic team since 1976. But I hit the men where it hurts by winning competitions.

Is there a Ken in your life? I've just finished a relationship, so I'm having a rest. I like my men a bit more rugged than Ken.

Is there still a little bit of Barbie left in you? I love a girly night out moaning about men, discussing make- up and clothes. I don't drink when I'm working, but when the season's over I let my hair down and party hard. I've also got a bright yellow BMW M3 - I ride fast and I drive fast - and a yellow tractor which I gun across the fields and annoy the neighbours.

Have you fulfilled your Barbie dream? Absolutely. I'm the luckiest person in the world. I'm passionate about what I do, riding, teaching and bringing on my present horse, Malacoff. The winning is the icing on the cake. But I've got a long way to go before I stop dreaming.

Would you buy your own children a Barbie doll? Definitely.

BARBIE: THE FACTS

Barbie, first marketed in 1959,

is based on a German pornographic sex doll for men called Lilli, and her full name is Barbie Millicent Roberts.

The inventor of the Barbie doll is Ruth Handler, co-founder of Mattel. She named the doll after her daughter, Barbara, and in 1961, Ken after her son.

Collecting Barbies is second only to stamp collecting as the most popular collecting hobby in America.

In 2000, Barbie had a belly button for the first time.

According to American research, if a real woman were to have Barbie's proportions, she would have to walk on all fours to move.

Barbie doll is currently a $1.8 billion dollar-per-year industry and takes the largest share of the world's fashion doll market.

Barbie has more than 43 pets including 21 dogs, 14 horses, three ponies, six cats, a parrot, a panda, a chimpanzee, a lion cub, a giraffe and a zebra.

The first celebrity Barbie was fashion model Twiggy in 1967.

There are more than 200,000 Barbie websites on the internet, with more than 1,000 dedicated to Princess Diana Barbie dolls.

Placed head to toe, Barbie dolls sold since 1959 would circle the Earth more than seven times.

Copyright 2001 MGN LTD
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