Barbie: Who Is the Woman on the Bench?

It was a moment from the first Barbie trailer that had fans buzzing: when Margot Robbie's Stereotypical Barbie had an encounter with an older woman on a park bench in the real world. From the way the trailer was edited, many thought that perhaps the old lady on the bench was the film's take on Barbie creator Ruth Handler — though that role was played by Rhea Pearlman in the film — or perhaps was a character played by Barbara Handler, the real-life daughter of Ruth Handler and Barbie's namesake. Now, however, with Barbie finally in theaters, we know the full significance of the scene as well as who that mystery woman actually is.

Warning: spoilers for Barbie beyond this point.

As it turns out, the scene on the park bench isn't between Barbie and Ruth Handler, nor is it between Barbie and, well, Barbie. Instead, it's just a moment where, fresh in real world, Barbie (Robbie) is starting to experience human emotions and encounters this older woman and she tells her, "You're beautiful". The older woman confidently responds, "I know", prompting Barbie to laugh through her tears. It is a profound moment and one that clearly has emotional resonance for Barbie on her adventure. But it doesn't really tie to anything else in the film. It's just a moment in time, one that's brilliantly acted by both Robbie and Anne Roth, an Academy Award-winning costume designer who has previously worked with Barbie co-writer Noah Baumbach, appearing in three of his films: Margot at the Wedding, While We're Young, and White Noise.

While the moment in the movie doesn't have any major plot significance, Gerwig explained to the New York Times that it's a moment that was necessary to the movie: without it, she didn't know what the film was about.

"It's a cul-de-sac of a moment, in a way — it doesn't lead anywhere," Gerwig said. "And in early cuts, looking at the movie, it was suggested, 'Well, you could cut it. And actually, the story would move on just the same' And I said, 'If I cut the scene, I don't know what this movie is about.'"

What is Barbie About?

In Barbie, to live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you're a Ken. From Oscar-nominated writer/director Greta Gerwig comes Barbie, which hit theaters on July 21st. Barbie stars Oscar-nominees Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken, alongside America Ferrera , Kate McKinnon , Michael Cera , Ariana Greenblatt , Issa Rae , Rhea Perlman , and Will Ferrell. The film also stars Ana Cruz Kayne, Emma Mackey , Hari Nef , Alexandra Shipp , Kingsley Ben-Adir , Simu Liu , Ncuti Gatwa , Scott Evans , Jamie Demetriou , Connor Swindells, Sharon Rooney, Nicola Coughlan, Ritu Arya , Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Dua Lipa and Oscar-winner Helen Mirren . Gerwig directed Barbie from a screenplay by Gerwig & Oscar nominee Noah Baumbach , based on Barbie by Mattel . 

Barbie is in theaters now.