American Girl

It’s what we’ve believed since our founding in 1986. And it’s a belief that drives us to be a trusted partner for parents who want to raise strong, confident girls.

Through the joy of play and the wonder of a great book, we help girls discover their sense of self. Our timeless stories and memorable characters instill important values like honesty, courage, kindness, and compassion.These values help form who girls become. Together with parents, we’re encouraging a new generation to write their own history and create a world we all want to live in.

Throughout our history, we’ve brought to life stories that enrich girls everywhere with characters who reflect issues and challenges girls face every day:

• Introduced in 1986, American Girl’s flagship line of historical characters features 18-inch dolls, books, and accessories that give girls ages 8 and up a dramatic understanding of the role women and girls played in shaping our country.

• In 1995, we debuted a contemporary 18-inch doll line that has since evolved into Truly Me™. The line encourages a girl to express, explore, and discover who she is right now—and to find the confidence to be her true self.

• Bitty Baby™, a line of 15-inch baby dolls, was also introduced in 1995 to help teach younger girls ages 3-6 important life skills like caring and nurturing.

• In 2001, we launched Girl of the Year™, a line of 18-inch contemporary characters who experience modern-day issues and give voice to a diverse range of personalities and backgrounds.

• The year 2016 brought with it the debut of the WellieWishers™, a line of 14.5-inch character dolls, early chapter books, and accessories for girls ages 5-7 that teach how to build lasting friendships. The WellieWishers’ stories also come to life via an original animated series.

• In 2018, we launched the ultimate experience in personalization with Create Your Own, enabling girls to design the doll and apparel they've always dreamed of through millions of combinations.

Because there are so many types of girls out there, we do our best to represent a diverse array of stories and interests, including with many products that have earned prestigious awards for play and developmental value. To see previous characters that helped girls discover and grow, explore the American Girl Archives. And in our effort to build girls of strong character today and in the future, we contribute to several charitable organizations that support children and their needs—you can even request a donation for your cause.

What we do, who we are, where we work

American Girl markets and distributes products through our award-winning catalogue; on our website, americangirl.com; in our proprietary U.S. experiential retail stores, as well as at select specialty retailers in Canada and the UAE. Plus, American Girl books are available through retail and online booksellers.
As a wholly owned subsidiary of Mattel since 1998, American Girl is one of the nation’s top omni-channel marketers, with direct, retail, and publishing divisions to serve the American Girl brand and our customers.
American Girl is headquartered in Middleton, Wisconsin, in two warehouse operations and distribution facilities totaling 600,000 square feet. With an additional warehouse and distribution center in DeForest, Wisconsin, and 17 American Girl retail stores located throughout the U.S, our facilities total more than 1.3 million square feet. Among our various locations, approximately 1,400 women and men are employed full- or part-time throughout the year, with the ranks growing to more than 2,600 during the pre-holiday season.