Shani was Barbie's African American friend from the 90s. She had her own head mold and group of friends. This line was known as The Marvelous World of Shani. Her friends included Nichelle and Asha. She also had her own boyfriend named Jamal.
Even after the doll line was discontinued, Shani and her friend's face sculpts and even body molds would continue to be used for Barbie brand dolls. Shani's face in particular had a brief performance as Barbie's friend Christie, and was also the face for the short-lived AA centric doll line Asha - African American Collection. Shani's face is the rarest out of the 4 sculpts from the Shani line, and is more frequently used as the face for AA versions of collector Barbie dolls.
Dolls[]
1991[]
- The Marvelous World of Shani - Shani
1992[]
- Beach Dazzle Shani
1993[]
- Beach Streak Shani
- Soul Train Shani
1994[]
- Sun Jewel Shani
- Jewel & Glitter Shani
Trivia[]
- Shani's face sculpt would also be used as the official face for Asha - African American Collection, a short-lived AA centric doll line that was meant to be a spiritual successor to the Shani line. Though the dolls were coincidentally named Asha, just like Shani's friend of the same name, the two were unrelated.