American Girl Introduces Its First-Ever South Asian ‘Girl Of The Year’ For 2023
Each year, famed toy manufacturer American Girl unveils its ‘Girl Of The Year’. Last year, the brand made headlines for featuring Chinese American doll Corinne Tan as its first Asian American headliner, with a backstory on how she coped with the rising anti-Asian sentiment.
Come 2023, the spotlighted figurine will once again be of Asian descent, but this time, Indian American Kavi Sharma will take over as the first South Asian ‘Girl Of The Year’ in the company’s history.
In hopes that these contemporary characters will “reflect what it means to be an American girl today,” the brand said that in the coming year, the aim is for Kavi to inspire young readers to find a healthy routine in life, and be inspired to pursue their own unique talents and dreams.
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Kavi will come in the form of an 18-inch doll, with brown eyes, medium skin tone, and layered dark-brown hair tied up in a half ponytail. Fans can dress her up in fun outfits and accessories befitting her outgoing nature, including a cropped mesh top, joggers, and pink tennis shoes.
Personality-wise, Kavi is a stage performer who loves singing show tunes or learning new dance moves. She grew up with her close-knit Indian American family in New Jersey, just a train ride away from the Big Apple and her favorite Broadway.
To come up with the doll’s backstory, American Girl partnered with New York Times bestselling author Varsha Bajaj to create an illustrated paperback journal and hardcover novel that accompanies the doll.
Titled It’s Showtime, Kavi, the book, which will debut later in 2023, will showcase “slivers of Indian culture, including dance, yoga traditions, food, clothing, and magical festivals like Diwali and Holi,” explained Bajaj.
In addition, the company took the initiative to involve a team of advisers in Kavi’s development, to ensure that real-world insights were provided and story themes were both authentic and accurate to her culture.
To show their support for younger performers just like Kavi, American Girl said it will be donating US$25,000 to fund full and partial scholarships for children attending the Broadway Education Alliance’s Camp Broadway cultural enrichment program.
Head here to pick up a Kavi doll and all the other fun accessories that come along with being up on stage.
[via Mashable and American Girl / Business Wire, images via American Girl / Business Wire]
