1951-
President and CEO of Mattel Inc.

No Goals.

Jill Elikann Barad's life was not always focused. Born in Queens, New York, Barad grew up in a creative household. Her father was a TV director and her mother, an artist and pianist. By the time she was in her teens, her life appeared dominated by show business and fashion. She tried college for three years, but then decided to take a job selling cosmetics. After a year she returned to school and got her degree in 1973. "I had no clue what I wanted to do. I just saw jobs as fun. I had no goals," she later admitted. She tried her hand at several jobs: modeling, acting, and as a traveling cosmetician-trainer for Coty Cosmetics. In 1979 she married Thomas K. Barad, an aspiring movie producer. The couple moved to Los Angeles. Soon after the birth of...