Timeline of American Girl

Here is the timeline of notable events in American Girl history!

1984 - Pleasant Rowland has the idea to create historically-accurate dolls.

1986 - The first 3 American Girl dolls release - Kirsten from 1854, Samantha from 1904, and Molly from 1944.

1988 - Dress Like Your Doll clothing releases.

1991 - Felicity from 1775, the first new American Girl doll to release, comes out. Cloth bodies are changed from white to skin color.

1992 - American Girl Magazine releases it's first issue.

1993 - Addy from 1864, the first African American doll in the lineup (and doll of color overall), releases. She is the first with a new skin tone and face mold.

1995 - Two new doll lines release - Our New Baby, baby dolls (later renamed Bitty Baby) and American Girl of Today, dolls without names that are meant to provide blank slates for girls to create their own characters. In this lineup is the first Asian American Girl doll, #4, who debuts a new face mold.

1997 - Josefina from 1997, the first Latina American Girl doll in the lineup, releases with a new face mold.

1998 - The American Girl store in Chicago, Illinois opens.

1998 - Mattel buys American Girl for $700 million.

2000 - Pleasant Rowland leaves American Girl.

2001 - The first Girl of the Year and first Jewish American Girl doll, Lindsey, is released.

2002 - Bitty Twins and Girls of Many Lands are launched.

2002 - Kaya from 1764, the first Native American Girl doll and last American Girl doll Pleasant Rowland had a hand in creating, releases. She is also the earliest doll in chronological order.

2003 - The second American Girl store in New York City is opened.

2004 - The first American Girl movie, Samantha: An American Girl Holiday, and the first Best Friend doll, Nellie O'Malley, releases.

2006 - American Girl of Today is renamed to Just Like You.

2006 - Jess McConnell, the first Girl of the Year to be referred to as the Girl of the Year, releases.

2006 - Girls of Many Lands are retired.

2007 - The first Girl of the Year to release on January 1, Nicki Fleming, releases. Girls of the Year release on that day for the next 12 years.

2007 - Julie Albright from 1975 is released as the new latest in chronological order American Girl doll, the first doll to be from a time post-World War II. She is released with Ivy Ling, the first Chinese American Girl doll.

2007 - The 2008 Girl of the Year, Mia, is revealed on the Oprah Winfrey Show, starting a tradition for Girls of the Year and select Historicals to be revealed on TV.

2007 - A smaller American Girl store in Atlanta, Georgia is opened.

2007 - Addy: An American Girl Play is the first American Girl live tour.

2008 - Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, the first theatrical American Girl movie, is released.

2009 - The first American Girl doll to have two companion dolls, Chrissa Maxwell, is released with companions Gwen Thompson and Sonali Matthews (the first Indian American Girl doll). She is also the first Girl of the Year to have a movie.

2009 - Samantha Parkington is retired, marking the first retirement of an older American Girl doll.

2010 - Just Like You is renamed to My American Girl.

2011 - American Girl celebrates it's 25th anniversary and holds a cruise to celebrate.

2011 - American Girl releases their first Best Friend pair who have equal billing in their stories, Cecile and Marie-Grace.

2014 - American Girl retires the Best Friend doll line and renames the Historical line to BeForever, bringing back Samantha, changing meet outfits and books, among other things.

2015 - The first disabled American Girl doll, Maryellen, a historical from 1954, releases.

2015 - My American Girl is renamed to Truly Me.

2016 - Bitty Twins are retired and the WellieWishers are released along with American Girl's first animated series.

2017 - The first American Girl boy doll, Logan Everett, is released, along with the Contemporary Characters line.

2017 - The peak of American Girl store operations - 20 American Girl stores are open in the United States, 9 in Canada and Mexico and 2 in the United Arab Emirates.

2018 - The first American Girl store to close, in St. Louis, closes.

2018 - The first live touring American Girl musical, American Girl Live, tours the nation throughout the end of 2018 and the first half of 2019.

2019 - The first Girl of the Year to release on a day that isn't January 1 since Jess, Blaire Wilso, releases.

2019 - The Contemporary Characters line is retired.

2019 - American Girl Magazine sends it's last issue.

2019 - BeForever is restored to the Historical Characters line.

2020 - The first American Girl doll with a visible disability, Joss Kendrick, Girl of the Year 2020, releases.

2020 - The COVID-19 pandemic closes all American Girl stores for three months.

2020 - Courtney Moore, the first historical doll from a year American Girl is in business, releases.

2021 - American Girl celebrates it's 35th anniversary with the rerelease of the original 6 dolls in their original outfits.

2021 - The World By Us line releases.

2022 - The first pair of sister American Girl dolls, Corinne and Gwynn Tan, release.

2022 - The first pop-culture related collaborations with American Girl are released.

2023 - New American Girl character dolls start to come with journals instead of books.

2023 - The first twin American Girl dolls, Isabel and Nicki Hoffman, release. They are also the latest chronologically in the Girl of the Year line.

2023 - The Disney line releases.

2023 - Lila Monetti, the Girl of the Year for 2024, is the first Girl of the Year to release outside of her calendar year since Jess McConnell.