The Six Original American Girl Dolls Are Back for the Brand's 35th Birthday!

Nice to see you again, Kirsten, Samantha, Molly, Felicity, Addy, and Josefina!

It's been 13 years since fans of American Girl could take home Samantha Parkington, a young orphan with Kate Middleton-esque hair who lived in early 1900s upstate New York with her wealthy grandma. First introduced as one of three original historical characters in 1986 by The Pleasant Company, the popular doll was actually retired in 2008, followed by fellow OG dolls Kirsten Larson in 2009 and Molly McIntyre in 2010. But now, to celebrate the iconic brand's 35th anniversary, the company is—get ready for it—bringing back Samantha, Kirsten and Molly—along with Felicity, Josefina and Addy. The dolls are returning for a limited time, in their original packaging, original clothes, and authentic accessories. Yes, go ahead and freak out.

“I actually have the new Samantha here, and she's gorgeous!" says a very excited Jamie Cygielman—the General Manager of American Girl—when I log on to our Zoom. "Anyone who grew up with the brand is gonna flip out over it, plus, we reprinted the first books with the vintage cover art, so it’s really fun.”

Each of the six original characters comes in its own special 35th Anniversary Collection, featuring a signature 18-inch doll dressed in her original outfit and authentic accessories, plus the character’s first paperback book in the series with a vintage cover. In further tribute to the brand’s roots, each set comes packaged in a retro-inspired American Girl doll box and retails for $150.

American Girl

To be honest, flipping out is an understatement. My parents gifted me Kirsten in 1991, and my sister received Samantha a few months earlier for Chanukah. We both still have them, but this news feels like the equivalent of a nostalgic hug, especially after a very turbulent year. 

In fact, Cygielman says that with more people being at home over the last year and going through their closets, they noticed admissions to the American Girl Doll Hospital actually went up. "I think people started to take them out and play with them again, and thought, ‘Ah, she needs to get a little smudge off her face or fix her hair a little bit,’ so we saw a pretty big increase in the back half of last year and through this year as well.”  

Although the original six dolls have been in and out of circulation—mainly in different iterations over the years—Cygielman says the goal was to bring them back as you remember from the '80s and '90s. "The idea was that [they] had been sort of vaulted and now we’re bringing them back out.”

American Girl founder, Pleasant Rowland, with the original dolls: Kirsten Larson, Samantha Parkington, and Molly McIntire.

American Girl

As part of the 35th birthday, the brand has also released a new book, Everything I Need to Know I Learned from American Girl, which Cygielman says is a “sort of tongue-in-cheek,” a 32-page nostalgic look back, geared towards adults. Then, on May 8, fans are invited to join American Girl and cupcake shop Magnolia Bakery for a virtual 35th Birthday Bash, along with other surprises throughout the year.

The original Josefina Montoya, available May 2021

American Girl

The original Felicity Merriman, available May 2021

The original Addy Walker, available May 2021

The original Kirsten Larson, available May 2021

American Girl

The original Samantha Parkington, available May 2021

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The original Molly McIntire, available May 2021

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Frosting and parties aside, the real celebration is what these dolls and their stories represent for millions of girls all over the world. “The stories act as a mirror to a child so that they can see themselves,” Cygielman tells Glamour. “Sometimes it’s a window into another world that they may not have been as familiar with, but that they can learn from. We've always wanted to tell diverse stories about the American experience, but also give girls great role models, which builds strong character.”

Cygielman notes that while the way a girl dresses or the toys that she plays with has changed over time, "the core tenets of girlhood and those rites of passage have not changed—such as her friends, her family, her community, doing the right thing, being a better person and inspiring to do great things. So it seemed really culturally relevant right now to tell those stories again to a new audience.”

The original sketch for Kirsten

American Girl

The original sketch for Samantha

American Girl

The original sketch for Molly

American Girl

As part of the 35th celebration, American Girl is partnering with Save the Children's U.S. Literacy program this summer with a gift of more than $100,000 in American Girl books. “We've long-championed the belief that strong readers become strong leaders,” the brand says. 

And to continue to get fans more excited, the brand is also releasing new images of the original dolls, which you can see below, along with some of The Pleasant Company's vintage photos released in the late '80s and early '90s. 

Kirsten Larson

Kirsten Larson, a pioneer girl settling on the frontier prairie in Minnesota in 1854, was one of three original historical characters introduced in 1986.

American Girl

Founder Pleasant Rowland with the original accessories for Kirsten, Samantha and Molly, as seen here in this undated photo from the 1980s.

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Samantha Parkington 

Samantha Parkington, an orphan living in upstate New York with her wealthy Grandmary in 1904, was one of the original three historical characters introduced in 1986.

American Girl
Molly McIntire 

Molly McIntire, a child of World War II growing on the home front in 1944, was one of the three original historical characters introduced in 1986.

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A vintage photo of Molly and her dog, Bennett, from 1986.

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Felicity Merriman

Felicity Merriman, a spirited, independent girl growing up in Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1774, was first introduced in 1991.

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Vintage Felicity in this undated photo from the early '90s.

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Addy Walker

Addy Walker, a courageous girl who escapes slavery and keeps her family strong in 1864, was first introduced in 1993.

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Addy had a puppet show display and vegetables, in this undated vintage photo.

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Josefina Montoya

Josefina Montoya, a quiet, caring girl living in New Mexico in 1824, during the opening of the Santa Fe Trail, was first introduced in 1997.

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Josefina and her little turtle, from this vintage 1997 photo.

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Here's the first American Girl doll headquarters, as seen in 1986. They've come a long way!

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The six original dolls are available on American Girls's website and will retail for $150 each. 

Happy Birthday, American Girl! Turning 35 never looked so much fun!

Jessica Radloff is the Glamour West Coast editor. To see her vintage Kirsten doll, you can check out her Instagram here. 

This story originally appeared on: Glamour - Author:Jessica Radloff