The 2018 Girl of the Year is an 11-year-old aspiring astronaut, according to American Girl
The new American Girl doll is defying stereotypes to help inspire girls to dream of reaching beyond the stars. Meet the 2018 American Girl of the year, Luciana Vega. She is 11 years old and dreams of becoming the first person on Mars.
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Come the New Year, little girls everywhere will be able to get their own version of the latest American Girl doll. Luciana is hitting the virtual and toy store shelves Jan. 1.
The American Girl doll was revealed Thursday morning on Good Morning America. A little girl in the audience eagerly said that she liked Luciana because “she is trying to inspire people.”
Luciana features a full astronaut suit, and she will have other STEM-related accessories for purchase as well. She will also have three books detailing her life as she wins a scholarship to attend space camp in Alabama.
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The 18-inch Luciana has brown hair and brown eyes. She is the first American Doll focused solely on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). “We’ve had STEM products before, but we really wanted to do a whole character to show girls that STEM is cool,” said Rebecca Dekuiper, a designer at American Girl.
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The 33-year-old company was committed to sharing an accurate aspiring-astronaut story, so it worked closely with real-life NASA astronauts to bring Luciana to life.
Katy Dickson, the president of American Girl, called Luciana “a champion of STEM and a natural-born leader” in a statement announcing her as the brand’s 2018 Girl of the Year.
“Luciana is a role model for today’s girls — empowering them to defy stereotypes, embrace risks and failures, and chart their own course in life — whatever the goal,” she added.
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People on Instagram are voicing their approval for the doll.
“Our 8-year-old daughter whose name is also Luciana is super excited to have a goty doll that shares her name,” wrote a commenter. “I am so happy to see this STEM collection. And a Latina doll. I want it all. Well done,” added another commenter.
“Way to go AG another Hispanic doll, this one involved in STEM, we can conquer the world if we work hard!”
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