Mattel, Inc. is an American toy manufacturing company founded in 1945 with headquarters in El Segundo, California. In 2010, it ranked #387 on the Fortune 500. The products and brands it produces include Fisher-Price, Barbie dolls, Monster High dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, WWE Toys, and early-1980s video game systems.
The company was founded in 1945 by Harold "Matt" Matson and Elliot Handler. Handler's wife, Ruth Handler, later became president, and she is credited with establishing the Barbie product line for the company in 1959.After the release of the Barbie doll, Mattel revolutionized the toy industry with its talking dolls and toys. Major successes in the 1960s with the talking Chatty Cathy doll in 1960 and See 'N Say toys in 1965, and the introduction of the Hot Wheels line in 1968 moved Mattel to its position as the number one toymaker in America.