The Heart Family

The Heart Family was created by Mattel in 1985 and featured a family of dolls made using Barbie molds. Though they did not have the Barbie logo on the box and came in blue boxes instead of pink, they were meant to be friends of Barbie.

The original Heart Family included Mrs. Heart, Mr. Heart, and their twin babies, a boy and a girl. All of the Mrs. Heart dolls and most Mr. Heart dolls had a gold wedding band painted on their left ring finger. The line soon grew to include another baby, grandparents, and lots of cousins.

The babies in the Heart Family line were made using the same mold that Mattel used to create the Rosebud line in 1976. For this reason, Heart Family baby dolls are dated "1976" on the back of their heads even if they were made later. Although the Rosebud line only included girl dolls, the Heart Family line had both girls and boys.

Since the babies were so popular, Mattel continued to make many other lines of babies, including The Heart Family Baby Cousins, Neighborhood Kids, and Heart Family Visits Disneyland Kids on Parade. Due to the popularity of The Heart Family in Europe, a line of babies called Barbie Li'l Friends was released there even after the line had been discontinued in the US. There was also a line of babies called Playground Friends.

The Heart Family line also included lots of outfits and accessories, playsets, and even a pet dog.