Critics and viewers continue to rave about Gretta Gerwig’s “Barbie.” The film received $1 billion in earnings at the box office this past weekend, per Forbes. But did you know award-winning journalist Lisa Guerrero portrayed Teresa, the first-ever Latina Barbie?

In an interview with The Sun, Guerrero revealed her experience working with Mattel, the movie and how it encourages young girls to achieve their dreams.

“Not only have I seen Barbie — I was a Barbie,” the Chilean American told the outlet.

Teresa was the first doll many young Latina girls could identify with. The classic brunette debuted in 1988 as the “California Dream” doll.

Since then, several versions of Teresa have made their way to retail stores, including Dance ‘n Flex, Rollerblade and 1994 Quinceañera Teresa. She was not only Barbie’s best friend, but Teresa was clearly that girl!

Mattel approached Guerrero to diversify their line of Barbies

Guerrero released her memoir “Warrior: My Path to Being Brave” in January. In the book, she discusses the challenges she faced in her career and the opportunity to diversify Mattel’s line of Barbies.

“I write in my book about the fact that Mattel hired me in the nineties to portray the first Latina Barbie named Teresa,” she explained to The Sun.

For several years, Guerrero portrayed the “real life” version of Teresa. Additionally, she attended toy fairs and other events around the country.

“I worked for them for several years at toy fairs and personal appearances all over the country,” she said.

The 59-year-old also served as a life-size Barbie for other well-known collections.

“I was the life-size Barbie for Country Rose Barbie, Holiday Barbie, My Fair Lady Barbie, and Teresa Barbie,” Guerrero noted.

Guerrero had a prominent modeling and acting career. Indeed, she had an “amazing experience” collaborating with Mattel and bringing diversity to the company.

“I had an amazing experience as a young model and actress being Barbie for Mattel,” she said.

The “Barbie” film inspires young girls to dream big and accomplish their goals!

Many young girls growing up in Latino households might have aspired to be wives and mothers. However, Guerrero wanted something else for herself. Instead, she wanted to be different. Her dreams were definitely outside the norm. 

“I played with Barbie dolls — I never wanted to be a wife and mother. I wanted to be a movie star and the quarterback for the Chargers,” Guerrero shared.

Like many of us, Guerrero couldn’t get enough of Barbie mania. We overstand! After all, the film features Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as the classic Barbie and Ken duo.

“When I saw who the cast was…I mean, to see Ryan Gosling as Ken and Margot Robbie as Barbie was incredible,” she told The Sun.

“Their portrayals were perfect,” Guerrero added.

She also praised fellow Latina America Ferrera for her role as Gloria in the film. The “Ugly Betty” star played a human character in the movie and shared her struggles with being a woman in today’s society.

Guerrero has several jobs she maintains since her life-size Barbie stint

Aside from breaking barriers in the toy industry, Guerrero is also an investigative correspondent for “Inside Edition.” When she’s not tackling hard-hitting stories, Guerrero can be seen as a guest host on A&E’s “Secrets of Playboy.”

The show is in its second season, following the lives of former cover girls as they share their stories with Guerrero. As a former cover girl, Guerrero shared how the show and “Barbie” share similarities regarding women having autonomy over their sexuality.

“[It is important] to tell these stories about impossible standards of beauty and why women need to take back their own sexuality and be the writer of their own narrative about their lives, about themselves, and about being a woman,” she explained.

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