Laverne Cox Barbie: Where to buy, release date, price and everything to know about the first transgender doll

Laverne Cox is now a Barbie doll. The actress, producer, writer, and activist has a doll modeled after her, launched a few days before her 50th birthday on May 29.

Cox's doll is the first transgender doll released by Mattel, the owner of Barbie. The company has also made donations to a nonprofit organization called the TransFamilySOS.

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Laverne Cox worked closely with Mattel to create the Barbie

The doll will be wearing a glamorous burgundy dress that includes a fitted corset top and a transparent tulle skirt. Under the dress hides another outfit. Laverne Cox told People that she wanted to have multiple dresses, but that would have increased the item's price, so they decided to make a bodysuit that goes inside the original dress. Cox's Barbie is also wearing sky-high boots attached to the bodysuit. The actress shared by saying:

"I wanted her to wear multiple outfits, but that wasn't cost-effective. You want the doll to be affordable. So I was like, 'What if she had one outfit that could peel off and become multiple outfits?'" she says. "So that's what we designed and came up with."

The doll also has dark low lights in her hair because Cox wanted it to resemble her as much as possible. She said:

"I was like, 'Can we make her look more like me? And more African Americans?' And we had a conversation about highlights and lowlights because I'm blonde most of the time now, but I'm a Black girl, so I need a dark root. And we had a whole conversation about how they can't do that, but they could do dark low lights."

Having a Barbie modeled after her is a significant achievement for the Emmy winner. She shared that her mother wouldn't let her play with dolls when she was young because she was assigned male at birth. So, when she started undergoing therapy in her 30s, her therapist advised her to buy herself a Barbie.

During this time, her mother decided to support her daughter and sent her a Barbie for Christmas. Laverne Cox shared that she "bawled" after seeing what her mother had gifted her. She said:

"And she's been sending me Barbies for Christmas and for my birthday."

She also added:

"So to be turning 50 years old and be transgender and have a Barbie in my life, that feels just like a full-circle kind of healing moment."

She feels that the doll can give trans children a certain amount of representation. They might relate to the Laverne Cox Barbie, especially in the present time, when gender-affirming therapy and treatment are becoming difficult to access. She hopes her doll can provide hope to other trans people. She said:

"What excites me most about her being out in the world is that trans young people can see her and maybe get to purchase her and play with her, and know that there's a Barbie made by Mattel, for the first time, in the likeness of a trans person."

Lisa McKnight, Executive Vice President and Global Head of Barbie and Dolls at Mattel, shared the brand's vision behind creating the item by saying:

"We are proud to highlight the importance of inclusion and acceptance at every age and to recognize Laverne's significant impact on culture with a Tribute Collection Barbie."

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Laverne Cox is an icon who became the first transgender woman of color to acquire a leading role in a scripted TV show on Orange Is the New Black. The doll will be available at all major retailers and MattelCreations.com, selling for $39.99.