By Laurie Sue Brockway

Barbie turns 50 on Monday, March 9th. Her parent company Mattel will celebrate with a party at a Malibu beach house - but of course! It will be a real beach house in the real Malibu.

Whoever thought that Barbie would reach midlife around the same time I did? Yikes. I have to say, she is looking a lot less worse for the wear than I. Then again, she of perpetual youth will always be in her 20's or perhaps early 30's.

She began as teen model in a striped bathingsuit, and in her many callings in life she progressed to astronaut and presidential candidate. In between she has been a surgeon in a short skirt and an airforce pilot.

Along the way she picked up a spiritual side - a Hindu Barbie in a Sari celebrating Divali, an African American Barbie decked out for Kwanza, for example. She manifested as a female in dozens of cultures - from Vietnam to Viking.

She also began to show her gentle spirit in a myriad of incarnations as angels, fairies, a unicorn and a mermaid.

Mustering her strenght she became Wonder Woman and the Statue of Liberty. And she also got a little macho as a Nascar driver, airforce pilot, patriot and, even, as George Washington - in pink, of course.

Let's not forget her stab at show biz. Back in the day she was Miss America, a singer, rapper and then lead singer with a guitar. Over time she has been Priscilla to a Ken-like Elvis, Beyonce, Elle Woods and even Tippy Hendren in a somewhat comical rendition of The Birds.

She has also been dressed by fashion icons, from Diane von Furstenberg to Badgely Mischa.

Overall, she is an all-around icron. Over time she has raised feminist ire for raising the bar so high on perfection and for making little girls feel they had to be perky and perfect like Barbie.

But still, ya gotta love her. She is every woman.

See more fun Barbie images.