It was created in 1968 by the designer and sculptor Tino Juan who was inspired by another Famosa doll, Pierina. The company's flagship toy snuck into 1970s homes under a foreign name, Nancy.
But first let's put ourselves in situation... in the first half of the 20th century and due to the 1st and 2nd World Wars, much progress was made in the field of plastics and all this technology began to be taken to other fields such as the toy industry approximately in the 50s, a time when we find, in the dictatorship Spain, a small area bathed by the Mediterranean known for its clay doll workshops. As these were very elaborate and fragile, the artisans felt seduced by this new material but the machinery to work it was very expensive so, in 1957 FAMOSA, Fabricantes Asociados de Muñecas de Onil S.A, was born. Around 25 workshops in what is now known as the Toy Valley joined forces to deal with the irruption of plastic in the sector but, although most of them fell of the project, the few that remained and kept going led FAMOSA to the posterity of the toy in Spain with Nancy as queen.
On one occasion the son of the famous sculptor of Famosa said that he believed that "She was baptized as Nancy because at that time a song performed by Frank Sinatra and his daughter Nancy became very famous" Tino Juan Prats The Provinces November 08, 2008
It seems then that "Something Stupid" could have been a source of inspiration for naming this doll in a country where "Nancys" must have been very rare but they did not feel less seduced for that, since 42 centimeters tall, with long hair and an impressive wardrobe made Nancy the perfect partner for any girl.
It was launched in a spectacular case that made the product very expensive and fot that the first year sales were not as good as expected but, from then on, they decided to change the box to a slightly more affordable one and, together with an advertisement in which they presented Nancy as the ideal companion so that the girls could project their desires on her, the success was astounding.
More characters were soon added to the Nancy line, a little sister named Lesly in 1976 and a special friend, Lucas, in 1979, all with a collection of models for every occasion. And, if something characterized the models of the three, it was a very characteristic seventies essence of our country that allowed the boys and girls of that time to identify the fashions with what they saw in their day to day, if not at home on TV.
At the end of the 1970s, the most renowned doll of all time burst onto the Spanish world of toys, Barbie, who had just arrived from the United States. She was much smaller and had a more voluptuous body and, although at the beginning of 80s they shared the scene a bit, Barbie won ground on Nancy to the point that Famosa reduced the size of her doll as Ideal had already done with Tiffany Taylor in an attempt to get closer to the Barbie model.
Today collector's reproductions are still made but with that movement the golden age of Nancy ended, the one of daisy eyes and swollen ankles that had nothing to do with the New Nancy of today that the Famosa of our days manufactures in China. Fortunately, there is a retinue of collectors among the girls who lived the splendor of Nancy who won't let her story die.
Nancy