Barbie collector with 18,000 dolls knows them so well she can identify them blindfolded
Barbie collector Bettina Dorfmann (Germany) knows the dolls so well that she can even identify them blindfolded.
With over 18,500 dolls in her possession, Bettina holds the record for largest collection of Barbie dolls.
And she recently put her knowledge to the ultimate test by seeing just how many of them she could name just by feeling their hair, shape and the outfits they were wearing.
During an appearance on Guinness World Records - Die große Show der Weltrekorde in Munich, last August, Bettina correctly named 19 dolls to earn the record for most Barbie dolls identified blindfolded in three minutes.
See her impressive efforts here…
Bettina takes just a few moments each time she is passed a doll to figure out which one it is.
Her knowledge of the famous doll – named a Guinness World Records ICON in our 2026 edition – is incomprehensible.
Is there anything you know so inside out?
Bettina first broke a record in 2005 with 2,500 Barbies and has extended her title numerous times as her collection has grown.
Read about more record-breaking collections in our dedicated section.
She said: “I played with Barbies a lot in my childhood. I had so much fun and I always kept them and kept them for my daughter. We would always play games with them.”
Bettina thinks Barbie mirrors society and says the ones she played with as a little girl are very different to the ones her daughter played with.
The hairstyles and clothing reflect the fashions and attitudes of the time they were released, which is how Bettina was able to identify them so easily even without seeing them.
“I think Barbie is always so exciting because Barbie is a mark or sign of our reality ahead,” she said.
“Barbies are ever-changing with the times. There are inclusive Barbies, they come from so many countries, in so many skin colours, with so many different jobs… and I think these are so many real themes in life.
“These dolls always have makeup of the current time, and this is a theme that people will always buy into.”
With a passion so deep, it seems Bettina will never stop collecting Barbies, and we can’t wait to see just how big her collection can grow.
She also urged anyone collecting something to check if there's a world record they could break, saying she's thrilled to have appeared in the Guinness World Records book with her Barbies.