Frida Kahlo Barbie Draws Complaints From Relatives

Relatives of the late Mexican artist aren't happy about a new Frida Kahlo doll from Mattel that they say looks a lot more like Barbie than Kahlo. Mara de Anda Romeo, the artist's great-niece, says Mattel was not authorized to launch a doll based on the artist, the BBC reports. Her lawyer says she doesn't want money, but wants the doll to be redesigned. "We will talk to them about regularizing this situation, and by regularizing I mean talking about the appearance of the doll, its characteristics, the history the doll should have to match what the artist really was," the lawyer says. Critics say the Kahlo Barbie lacks some of the artist's features, particularly her famously thick eyebrows.

The Kahlo Barbie was released as part of an Inspiring Women set that also includes pilot Amelia Earhart and NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson. Kahlo, a feminist icon, died in 1954. Mattel says it developed the doll with Frida Kahlo Corporation, which "owns all the rights" to the artist's image, the AP reports. Mattel "celebrates the ideological contributions of Frida Kahlo which have transcended the borders of art and which will influence new generations as a world icon through the Frida Kahlo Barbie, which conserves the essence of Barbie and the legacy of Frida Kahlo," the company said in a statement. (More Barbie stories.)