Midge Hadley

Midge Hadley/Gallery

**Midge Hadley** is a *Barbie* character that was introduced in 1963.

## History

In year 1963, Mattel introduced Midge, a woman of Irish descent, onto the market, who had less makeup and a more friendly look than Barbie after Barbie was targeted for controversy due to her svelte body looking more like an adult woman, like Bild Lilli was, and Midge won the hearts of little girls everywhere, just like Barbie. Midge started dating Allan Sherwood in 1964 when he was introduced as Ken's best friend. Midge, Barbie, Alan and Ken would double-date.

Midge was discontinued in 1967, and was replaced by PJ, who used the same Midge face mold. PJ was freckle-less, very pale, and wore heavy makeup that accentuated her rooted eyelashes in the Mod era.

Midge came back in the late 80's, first being California Dream Midge, but her appearances continued to be spotty, next being seen marrying Allan in the 1991 Wedding Day set, only to disappear again (aside from 35th anniversary Midge from 1997) until the Happy Family series, which was quick to retire after absurd accusations of it promoting teen pregnancy. Midge finally came back, permanently, in 2013, though no longer married with children, as they and Allan no longer exist.

In the early years, Midge was a teenager, same age as Barbie, but during her multiple comebacks, it was led to believe that she was more of a young adult, around twenty-five years old when marrying Allan, then having children. The first was Ryan, who came as a small child in the Happy Family series, Later, she had a little girl, Nikki, named after her best friend.

Later on, around Nikki's first birthday, Midge was "pregnant" again with another child, who wasn't named or given a specific gender, as the gender was a surprise when the owner opened the doll's box. Midge has two known parents who were simply called "Robert" and "Ethel". At first, the grandparent dolls were sold together as part of a big set consisting of the dolls and a kitchen play set, but for Nikki's first birthday, they were sold separately. They too came in both Caucasian and African American versions. They use different body molds to reflect their age.

### *Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse*

She is Barbie's childhood best friend, having grown up together in Willows, Wisconsin. She joined the show partway through the third season. She doesn't trust objects that are new or electronic. Her name is Midge Hadley Sherwood after marriage to Alan Sherwood in the original *Barbie* franchise, but it is presumed that in the *Life in the Dreamhouse* franchise, Midge never got married and Alan doesn't even exist.

## Description

The original bestie Barbie from Willows, Wisconsin, Midge is a throwback to the 1960s. Thanks to Barbie, she’s gone from flashback to flash fabulous in no time, but when she gets nervous (especially around Ryan) she reverts back to slang like groovy and threads. It’s her super smarts and quirky style that make her absolutely a-dork-able!

## Relationships

* Midge and Barbie were best friends growing up in Willows, Wisconsin. After Barbie moved to Malibu, the two lost contact with each other due to the fact that Willows is 'stuck' in the 1960's. She is arguably Barbie's *best* friend as the two have known each other since they were children.
* Midge was initially confused by Skipper, Stacie and Chelsea due to their use of modern-day slang. Skipper showed her how to use modern day appliances such as laptop computers and smartphones during the course of her makeover.
* Midge developed a crush on Ryan almost instantly after meeting him. She acts flustered and dorky around him, causing her to revert to using slang from the 60's. After her makeover, Ryan became interested in her.
* Midge and Nikki initially disliked each other due to their mutual friendship with Barbie. They set aside their differences, however, after Barbie confirmed that all of her friends were her BFFs.
* Midge and Teresa similarly got off to a rocky start, however Midge acted more condescending than jealous when the clueless Teresa mispronounced the word 'macramé' as 'mac and cheese'. They similarly became friendlier after Barbie told them that they were all her BFFs.
* Midge and Summer disliked each other in the beginning, but they started to see that they aren't that different and they like activities that they are both skilled at. They are seen talking to each other in Cringing in the Rain so it may be possible that they have become friends.