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Shailene Woodley<\/strong><\/a>, Olivia Rodrigo<\/strong><\/a> and more stars were American Girls long before they became Hollywood A-listers<\/a>.<\/p>\n The beloved toy brand<\/a> \u2014 which was originally owned by Pleasant Company before Mattel bought the rights to the property in 1998 \u2014 was known for its range of history-inspired dolls that were set in various decades in the United States.<\/p>\n Victorian preteen Samantha Parkington was the first character to get the movie treatment with\u00a0The Carrie Diaries<\/i><\/a>\u2019 AnnaSophia Robb<\/strong><\/a> portraying the titular role in the 2004 holiday flick. Woodley, for her part, was the next starlet to lead<\/a> an\u00a0American Girl\u00a0<\/i>film the following year, playing Pioneer-era Felicity Merriman in\u00a0Felicity: An American Girl Adventure<\/i>.<\/p>\n The\u00a0American Girl\u00a0<\/i>movies \u2014 all direct-to-DVD productions or web series \u2014 each highlight a different doll\u2019s story. Rodrigo, for her part, landed her first major acting role<\/a> as \u201cGirl of the Year\u201d Grace Thomas in\u00a0An American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success<\/i>.<\/p>\n Black-ish<\/a>\u00a0<\/i>alum Marsai Martin<\/strong><\/a> later brought doll Melody Ellison to life<\/a> in her own\u00a0American Girl\u00a0<\/i>movie, which was set against the civil rights movement in Alabama in the 1960s.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore I shot the movie, I was not aware of some of the things that my grandparents had to go through just because of the color of their skin,\u201d Martin, then 12, told CelebSecrets.com<\/a> in October 2016, referring to the racial inequality of the era. \u201cHopefully this movie will give kids, parents and grandparents an opportunity to talk about the past, so we don\u2019t repeat those mistakes in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n