While we are still scraping through 2025, the classic doll brand American Girl Doll released their 2026 Girl of the Year. The news came on Sept. 17, ahead of the brand’s 40th anniversary and 25th anniversary of the Girl of the Year. 

Now, who is the newest American Girl Doll of the year? None other than Raquel Reyes, a 10-year-old who lives in Kansas City, Missouri. She embraces her Mexican American heritage from her dad and helps her parents run a paleta business. She also has a little brother and a Pomeranian rescue named Luzita, as she has a passion for animal rescue.

In her spare time, she enjoys DJing and playing pickleball. She is very family oriented and enjoys traveling with them as well as journaling about her experiences. 

Raquel has quite the legacy to follow with past American Girl Dolls of the year, but luckily, she is in good hands, as she is a descendant of the great Samantha Parkington. On her mom’s side, Raquel is the great-great-granddaughter of one of the first three historical American Girl Dolls, Samantha Parkington, who was first introduced in 1986. 

Samantha is from the Victorian era and navigates childhood after her parents died in a tragic boating accident. Now she lives with a wealthy grandmother whom she calls Grandmary. Along with this, she has to deal with her annoying neighbor, Eddie Ryland, but luckily, her Uncle Gardner visits her frequently and is the primary father figure in her life. 

Although Samantha is an icon in the American Girl doll world, unfortunately, she can be a bit naive due to her lifestyle, especially when she meets Nellie O’Malley, who is hired by the Rylands for child labor. 

Since this is the Victorian Era, while Grandmary and Samantha are doing just fine, Nellie and her family are not, so Nellie has to work to help support her family. However, Samantha is still very kind and giving to Nellie despite having some tone-deafness to the situation at large. 

Overall, the stories of past American Girl Dolls have covered a wide range of historical events and stories. From watching their parents die in a boating accident like Samantha Parkington or wanting to wear pants like Julie Albright, the range has been vast. 

There’s also been a sprinkle of the modern ordinary but extraordinary girls. For example, there was the 2009 American Girl Doll of the year, Chrissa Maxwell, who stood tall against bullying. Also, the 2012 American Girl Doll of the year, McKenna Brooks, was an active gymnast who struggled with reading comprehension. Thus, the range continues to be vast and the creativity is never void. 

Coming back to Raquel, she can inspire a new generation of girls just as these previous dolls have and continue to do. Whether you have grown up playing with American Girl Dolls or reading about them, they still hold a great influence even in our adult lives. But now that we have adult money, we can afford to buy dolls like Reyes or maybe afford one of her elaborate accessories because, unfortunately, dollflation still exists.