Shailene Woodley, Olivia Rodrigo and more stars were American Girls long before they became Hollywood A-listers. The beloved toy brand - which was originally owned by Pleasant Company before Mattel bought the rights to the property in 1998 - was known for its range of history-inspired dolls that were set in various decades in the United States. Victorian preteen Samantha Parkington was the first character to get the movie treatment with The Carrie Diaries' AnnaSophia Robb portraying the titular role in the 2004 holiday flick.