Madame Alexander

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Beatrice Alexander who called herself Madame Alexander (Mrs. Philip Behrman) was an American entrepreneur who created the first "collectible" dolls based on a licensed character - Scarlett O'Hara from the book and movie Gone with the Wind. She also is credited with making the first mass-produced dolls in honor of living people, with dolls of the the famous Dionne quintuplets in 1936 and a set of 36 Queen Elizabeth II dolls to commemorate the 1953 coronation celebrations in Britain. Most recently, in 2002 two Judy Garland portrait dolls were introduced. Other popular dolls have been 'Pussycat' a large baby doll dressed in fine coat and dress and a Mary, Queen of Scots Portrait Doll as well as Heidi and a series international dolls in native costumes.

A December, 2005 article in Forbes magazine analyzed the most popular American toys by decade, with help from the Toy Industry Association. Her collectible dolls led the list for the 1920-1929 decade, beating out even the yo-yo.