Mattel honors Fil-Am front-line doctor with Barbie doll in her image

Dr. Audrey Sue Cruz received an email from Mattel telling her of the Barbie doll that will be in her honor. MATTEL

LAS VEGAS — Physician Dr. Audrey Sue Cruz is being honored with a one-of-a-kind Barbie® doll created in her image as part of Mattel Inc.’s #ThankYouHeroes program for pandemic front-line health workers.

Cruz, 29, is among six role models from around the world being honored for their “tremendous sacrifices when confronting the pandemic and the challenges it heightened,” said Lisa McKnight, senior vice president and global head of Barbie & Dolls for Mattel.

The Dr. Audrey Cruz Barbie. MATTEL

Mattel said that  Cruz joined forces with other Asian American doctors to fight racial bias and discrimination during the pandemic.   She received an email from Mattel telling her they wanted to make a doll to look just like her.

“It’s a huge honor that I never expected,” Cruz told 8 News Now. “What? Me? I hope I can represent women of color, women in healthcare, women who are working moms.” Cruz has a two-year-old child.

She grew up in Honolulu and Las Vegas and got a BA in electrical engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno. She then got her medical degree from the University of Nevada School of Medicine, finishing her internal residency at the Loma Linda University Medical Center in Southern California before moving to work in Las Vegas.