World Cup-winning soccer star Chloe Kelly is now a Barbie

London—Chloe Kelly, the Arsenal and England forward whose extra-time winner clinched the 2022 UEFA Women’s European Championship and whose decisive penalty sealed the 2025 Euros crown, has now been immortalised in plastic. Mattel has unveiled a one-of-a-kind Barbie doll modelled on the 28-year-old, celebrating her selection as Barbie’s global Role Model of the Year.

The miniature Kelly is kitted out in Nike’s 2025 Lionesses home strip: a red-to-blue ombre stripe across the chest, blue shorts trimmed with red-and-white side panels, knee-high socks and football boots. The real Kelly, speaking between campaign shoots in a north-London warehouse, wore a cinched denim blouse and barrel-leg trousers by rising British-Nigerian designer Tolu Coker—an outfit she chose for its “shape and structure” and its balance of comfort and attitude.

“I’m very proud to have my very own Barbie doll,” Kelly told CNN, still buzzing after Arsenal’s mid-week Champions League victory that booked the club’s quarter-final berth. “To see a footballer with a Barbie doll shows that our sport is here to stay. We’ve inspired so many on the pitch, but off the pitch this is huge.”

The honour arrives as women’s football experiences unprecedented momentum. Kelly, who made her senior debut at 17, returned to Arsenal from Manchester City—initially on loan in January 2025 and then permanently—helping the Gunners end an 18-year wait for European silverware by winning the Women’s Champions League final against Barcelona. She followed that by converting the trophy-clinching penalty for England against Spain in the 2025 Euro final, securing back-to-back continental titles for the Lionesses.

Barbie’s Role Model programme, now in its tenth year, spotlights women who “brought their dreams to life” and shattered boundaries. Previous honourees span music (Kylie Minogue, Shania Twain), film (Helen Mirren, Viola Davis) and sport, including basketball great Sue Bird, tennis icon Venus Williams and rugby Olympian Ilona Maher. Kelly’s induction underlines Mattel’s shift from a single beauty archetype to a broader, more representative spectrum of body types, skin tones and achievements.

Kelly views the doll as a bridge between generations. “Seeing football and Barbie, two worlds colliding, it shows to younger girls that we can do both,” she said. Participation data back her up: girls’ grassroots registrations in the UK have surged since the Lionesses’ 2022 triumph, and commercial agencies are signing players as cultural influencers—England captain Leah Williamson recently joined talent firm Fivethree, home to pop stars Olivia Dean and Sam Smith.

Since the winter break Arsenal have won eight of ten fixtures, lifted the inaugural FIFA Women’s Champions Cup in February and are targeting a May showdown in Oslo. “Our eyes are set on the Champions League final,” Kelly admitted, “but first we have to beat Chelsea, so we’ll be ready for that test.”

For a player who grew up when women’s football was still fighting the legacy of a 50-year FA ban, the doll is more than memorabilia—it is a declaration. “I have my goal set on winning many more,” she smiled, clutching the prototype that will soon sit on shelves and, perhaps more importantly, in young fans’ hands.

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