The New 'Historical' American Girl Doll Is From The 1980s

Needless to say, we're feeling ancient.
American Girl's newest doll is Courtney Moore, an '80s girl who loves arcade games.
American Girl
American Girl's newest doll is Courtney Moore, an '80s girl who loves arcade games.

Prepare to feel old. American Girl announced its latest “historical character,” and she’s from ... the 1980s.

On Tuesday, the brand unveiled Courtney Moore, “a total ’80s girl who’s changing the game to find her inner hero.” Courtney joins an illustrious line of historical characters from American Girl, like Edwardian-era Samantha Parkington, Felicity Merriman from the time of the Revolutionary War, and civil rights activist Melody Ellison.

Courtney dreams of creating new video games.
American Girl
Courtney dreams of creating new video games.

According to the press release, Courtney’s story takes place in 1986 and “reflects the pop culture of the decade from sky-high hair, neon-colored fashions, music television, and video gaming to major historical moments surrounding women in government and space exploration, as well as larger cultural shifts around blended families and emerging technology.”

Courtney is one of the top-scoring PAC-MAN players at her local arcade in the fictional town of Orange Valley, California, and dreams of one day creating video games with more female characters. She has a blended family, her mom is running for mayor, and to make things super meta, she loves playing with her American Girl Molly doll ― the World War II-era character that the brand debuted in 1986.

Courtney has her own mini version of the Molly American Girl doll.
American Girl
Courtney has her own mini version of the Molly American Girl doll.

“Courtney comes with her very own mini American Girl Molly doll ... in a replica of a Pleasant Company doll box, a mini version of the original ‘Meet Molly’ book, and even a mini 1980s Pleasant Company catalogue,” the press release notes.

In addition to her Molly doll, Courtney’s accessories include a cassette player and tape, colorful bangle bracelets, fake Lip Smacker balm, a hot pink bunk bed with rainbow bedding, a see-through phone, Care Bears and Caboodles ― basically all of the cool products that ’80s kids remember fondly.

The doll's accessories include true '80s throwbacks.
American Girl
The doll's accessories include true '80s throwbacks.

Needless to say, the ’80s doesn’t feel quite as “historical” as some of the other characters’ eras, but it’s worth noting that the historical line also includes Julie Albright, a 1974 character learning about the women’s liberation movement. Courtney is the brand’s first historical character in three years, following the introduction of Nanea Mitchell ― a Native Hawaiian girl whose story begins just before the Pearl Harbor bombing ― in 2017.

American Girl enlisted classic ’80s girl band The Go-Go’s to help announce the new character. Through a new partnership with Girls Who Code, the brand will also match customer donations dollar for dollar up to $50,000 through Dec. 31 and provide four computer science-related scholarships to support the nonprofit’s mission to close the gender gap in technology.

Keep scrolling for more photos of Courtney, and visit the American Girl website for additional information about the doll, books and other offerings.

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