Molly McIntire (doll)
The Molly McIntire doll was released in 1986, along with Kirsten Larson and Samantha Parkington. They were American Girl's first three Historical Characters. Molly was retired along with Emily Bennett in 2013. Molly was rereleased for BeForever in 2018 exclusively via Costco with the set briefly sold on American Girl's site in 2019. A Special Edition version was released for the 35th anniversary in 2021, and a relaunch was rereleased in 2022. A 40th anniversary edition was released in 2026.
- Face Mold: Classic Mold (debut)
- Skin: Light
- Hair: Light Brown, straight, bangs, comes styled in two pigtail braids.
- Eyes: Grey
Meet Outfit
Classic/Rerelease Meet Outfit
Molly's meet outfit reflects the need for versatility in one's wardrobe during the World War II era, when clothing restrictions were in place and by necessity, outfits needed more versatility than before and had to mix and match more than prior eras.
The same outfit, with minimal and slight modifications, was rereleased in 2022.
Sweater
Wool knit long sleeved pullover sweater. Raglan sleeves. Majority of sweater is of navy blue knit; front has a navy blue, red, and green argyle pattern. Starting in the mid-2000s, a Velcro closure was added to the center back.
The Making of American Girl explains that the design for the sweater was done by knitter Gretchen W. Maring.
Skirt
Navy blue wool A-line skirt. Four panel, center and side seams with waistband. Velcro closure at center back.
Dickey
White dickey. Rounded "Peter Pan" collar has blue rickrack trim.
Socks
White knit ankle socks.
Shoes
Black plastic Mary Jane style slip-on shoes. Her shoes are identical to Samantha's Classic meet shoes and Nellie's.
Hair Ribbons
Two red satin ribbons. These come tied on the ends of the doll's braids.
Glasses
Silver metal glasses with round frames. They come in a red soft slipcase with a white elastic loop to fit around doll's wrist.
The glasses were modified twice. The first change in the late 1990s was to the arms; rather than curving down like more authentic glasses, they became straight. The second change in the mid 2000s was to the shape of the frames, which were made more oval and no longer perfectly circular.
Underwear
White cotton bloomer style underwear; these are similar to Samantha's bloomers and later Nellie and Emily.
BeForever Outfit
Molly for BeForever was released in a new meet outfit. This set was exclusively available through Costco in 2018. The set included the doll, accessories, Molly's Write to Sleep Pajamas, and her first book (A Winning Spirit) for $119. The full set was later briefly sold on American Girl's site in 2019 for $125.
The new meet outfit alone was briefly sold as Molly's Outfit for 18" Dolls in 2020, online only. It had a listed retail price of $36 and a sale price of $28.
Sweater
Dark blue sweater with red buttons in the front and a blue ribbon at the top of the collar. The buttons are non-functional; the sweater closes in the back with velcro. Sweater also features an argyle pattern in the knitting on the front, with white knit lining showing through the holes (which is visible as lining on interior)
Skirt
Navy, red, and white plaid skirt. Two box pleats in the front. Elastic waistband at back. American Girl plastic logo tag on lower left skirt hem.
Socks
White knit ankle socks.
Shoes
Red and white saddle shoes. Red laces. Light brown soles.
Underwear
White elastic panties. These are similar to the ones for Maryellen and Melody.
Ribbons
Two red satin ribbons. These come tied on the ends of the doll's braids, and are not included in the separately sold outfit.
Glasses
Brown plastic glasses with round frames. These are not included in the separately sold outfit.
Meet Accessories
Classic/2022 Meet Accessories
Beret
Navy wool beret. Elastic band.
Bag
Shiny red vinyl strapped purse. Closes with snap on outer flap. Felt trim.
Embroidered Handkerchief
White cotton handkerchief. Edges trimmed in red. Molly's name is monogrammed in red in a corner.
Steel Penny
Replica 1943 steel penny. Originally, this was an authentic coin and was later replaced with the replica. Comes in a white paper envelope with an image of the coin and the words "Molly's Penny."
Silver Locket
Silver heart-shaped locket on a matching chain. Interior has slot for space for inserting picture. Front has heart and flower engraved on it.
The 2022 locket does not open.
Photo
Paper insert that had a small, black-and-white heart-shaped image of James McIntire and text:
Molly's father was a doctor who was far away during World War Two, caring for wounded soldiers. While he was gone, Molly wore his picture in her silver locket. Cut out Dad's picture and glue it inside the heart of Molly's locket. It's a special treasure for Molly and a keepsake for you from The American Girls Collection.
This was not part of the 2022 rerelease as the locket no longer opens to insert a picture.
Letter
Added as part of the 2022 rerelease. White paper letter addressed from Molly to Molly's dad on December 21. A colored picture of a Christmas tree is at the top.
Envelope
Added as part of the 2022 rerelease. White paper envelope addressed to Molly's father with a return address for Molly's house.
BeForever Meet Accessories
These were exclusively available in the Costco Bundle.
Beret
Red wool beret with elastic band.
Purse
Red vinyl bag with long vinyl strap. The vinyl is matte rather than shiny (unlike Molly's Classic purse). It has a faux snap on the front of the bag, but actually closes with velcro. Fabric trim.
Dollars
Two contemporary-styled[1] $US one-dollar bills.
Necklace
Silver heart-shaped locket on a matching chain. The locket has a design on the front with the Great Seal of the United States.
35th Anniversary Edition
For American Girl's 35th Anniversary, Molly was rereleased as a limited edition bundle. The bundle includes the doll in the Classic Meet Outfit with thin eyebrows, Classic meet accessories, the first edition parchment style of Meet Molly (illustrations by Nick Backes), and an older-style box (modified with visibility window) for a total cost of $150. This bundle sold out in August 2021.
Unlike standard dolls sold at this time, Molly has neck strings. The skirt has the American Girl oval plastic logo tag on the right front hem. Notably, the locket does not open and is a solid charm; this means that no picture of Dr. McIntire is included. The necklace has the same flower pattern as the original locket, not the BeForever necklace's Great Seal of the United States.
One-of-a-Kind Edition
A one-of-a-kind Molly, designed by Carly Cushnie of Harlem's Fashion Row, was auctioned on eBay from September 23 to 26th, 2021, with all proceeds donated to Girls Who Code. The auction initial starting price was $300 and final auction price was $2,938.88.
The doll was dressed in a blue and white color block ponte jersey jumpsuit with red trims, a red scrunchie (with her hair up in a single braided ponytail), the Bright Red Sunglasses, and the shoes from Joss's Cheer Competition Outfit. She also came with her BeForever red vinyl purse.
In coordination with the one-of-a-kind dolls, American Girl released the American Girl Collector Tote, which has an illustration of the first six historical characters in their modern outfits.
2022 Re-Release
Molly was re-released in her classic outfit in 2022. Retail cost was $115 and increased to $135. This version sold out in December 2025.
Molly's 2022 re-release used the standard American Girl box, and like the other historical dolls, she had a unique logo and a stock image at the bottom of the box. She came with Molly: A Winning Spirit. Her meet accessories were available separately from the doll.
40th Anniversary Edition
A similar version to the 35th anniversary re-release was made available for preorder in early April 2026; the dolls began shipping on May 1. Retail cost is $175. This includes the doll, her meet accessories, and the older, parchment-style edition of Meet Molly. The packaging does not have any 40th anniversary branding on it.
This release standardized the format for the first eight historical dolls; before this, only Molly and Kaya were sold with new editions of their books and without their meet accessories. Like the 35th anniversary re-release and the 2023 to 2025 historical re-releases, these dolls have maroon packaging reminiscent of 1990s American Girl boxes with the title "The American Girls Collection" on them. However, these boxes now have a unique mark next to the collection title that matches the doll's meet outfit pattern; Molly's box has a plaid square.
The matching outfit for children was available, with the first three being part of the Sporty Separates:
- Blouse: $26
- Skirt: $30
- The above two were also sold together for $70.
- Sweater: $30 (later $36 and $40)
- Sterling Locket: $20
- French Beret: $10 (also available in red and white)
- Navy Knee Socks: $8 (also available in red and white)
- Saddle Shoes (Blue and White Only): $30
The components were released in 1987 and retired around 2000.
In 2025, American Girl began offering outfit sets for children and adults that are inspired by the historical characters in collaboration with Posh Peanut. These include t-shirts, dresses, and sweatshirts with Molly's likeness and meet outfit prints.
In May 2026, American Girl and Tea Collection released clothing for children that is based on the original six historical characters. Some of the outfits coordinate with the Modern Era Collection versions of the dolls; some are inspired by the character in general. The Bow Tee and Best Friends Tee have a retail cost of $35, and the Strappy Dress has a retail cost of $59.
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The American Girl x Tea Collection Bow Tee with a bow inspired by Molly.
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The American Girl x Tea Collection Best Friends Tee with modern Molly.
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The American Girl x Tea Collection Strappy Dress with modern Molly.
Dress Like Your Doll: Hill House Home
In May 2026, American Girl and Hill House Home released clothing for children and adults based on the original six historical characters.
A Molly mini doll has been available since the debut of mini dolls in 1995. There are five versions with her meet outfit: the Pleasant Company mini doll, the Mattel mini doll, the 2016 Classic Meet doll, the BeForever mini doll, and Courtney Moore's mini doll. The 2016 doll was a limited run re-release with the newer face mold and plastic body; the style was reused for Courtney's doll. Her BeForever doll was released in early 2018 and remains available.
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Molly's Mattel mini doll.
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Molly's 2016 mini doll.
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Molly's BeForever mini doll.
In 2020, Courtney's Collection released Courtney's Pleasant Company Doll, designed to mimic the Molly doll in the classic 1986 style packaging. Her story states that Courtney relates to Molly, whose father is away like Courtney's.
Pre-Mattel, Mattel, White-Bodied Doll, and BeForever Differences
- White bodied Molly dolls have a white muslin cloth body; all other Molly dolls have matching cloth bodies.
- The eyes are more grey hued in a White-body Molly.
- BeForever Molly dolls have feathered-styled eyebrows while older versions (and the 35th anniversary edition) have the thinner line brows.
Trivia
- In the books, Molly is described as having brown eyes, but the doll was given grey eyes. The same thing happened with the Ruthie Smithens doll. No official reason was given for the discrepancy; however, it can be assumed that this was to further differentiate Molly from Samantha at the start of the line, as both dolls share a similar hair color and the same face mold.
- Authentically, Molly's underwear would have likely had corded ties on the side to hold them up, as rubber (and thus elastic) was being reserved for war materials. However, like most modifications to doll items, the elastic makes for ease.
See Also
References
- ↑ In 1957 In God We Trust was added to the back of the bill and a floral border design was added to the front of the bill in 1963, features that would not have been on extant bills of the era.