From Babies to Barbie and Punk Rock Producing: Cristan Crocker’s SAHM Story
In this episode of Mom to MORE®, host Sharon Macey welcomes Cristan Crocker—a former actress turned stay-at-home mom turned celebrated documentary filmmaker and producer. Known for powerful projects like The Other F Word and Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie, Cristan is co-founder of Rare Bird Films, where she tells stories that unpack identity, challenge societal norms, and celebrate change.
Cristan shares how raising twin boys and a third son in the Pacific Palisades shaped her creative lens, giving her new perspective, purpose, and persistence. Deeply committed to both family and filmmaking, she and her producing partner carved out space for storytelling during school hours—proving that big ideas can grow within the margins of busy mom life.
Tune in as Sharon and Cristan dive into creative reinvention, parenting with purpose, building tiny but mighty teams, and the untold story of Barbie’s real-life creator. With warmth, wit, and wisdom, Cristan reminds us: reinvention doesn’t require reinvention overnight—it just takes one brave step at a time.
[00:00] Introduction
[01:39] Meet Cristan Crocker
[02:15] Motherhood by surprise (twins!) and the NICU journey
[05:22] Creating space for creativity while raising three boys
[08:59] The power of collaboration and creative routines
[13:00] Mom traits turned career skills
[17:46] Behind the scenes of Tiny Shoulders
[22:53] Using storytelling to raise compassionate, curious sons
[28:10] Cristan’s advice to moms thinking about what’s next
[33:55] Cristan’s passion for local news and community storytelling
Meet my guest Cristan Crocker:
Instagram: @cristan4
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0188383/?ref_=fn_rvi_i_1
Tiny Shoulders, Rethinking Barbie: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=tiny+shoulders+rethinking+barbie
The Other F Word documentary: https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/amzn1.dv.gti.caa9f7a2-a66f-673e-96e8-7530def02d63?autoplay=0&ref_=atv_cf_strg_wb
Looking for More? Follow @momtomore on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
@Sharon Macey on LinkedIn.
Keep an eye out for episode #42 of the Mom to MORE® podcast where Sharon is joined by Deb Mallin, founder of Mighty Doodle. Coming soon - you won’t want to miss it ♥
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Sharon (01:14)
welcome back to a new episode of Mom to More. Okay, my guest today has a really compelling stay at home mom and reinvention story that I know is really gonna resonate with you. Cristan Crocker is an American documentary filmmaker and producer celebrated for her insightful explorations of identity, culture and social change. She co-founded Rare Bird Films in 2008 alongside Andrea Blodgren-Nevins.
initiating the venture with the acclaimed documentary, The Other F Word, which delves into the lives of punk rock musicians transitioning into fatherhood. Now that is an image in my head. Building on this success, Kristen co-produced Tiny Shoulders, Rethinking Barbie, a Hulu original that premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival. The film offers a critical examination of Barbie's evolution.
and its reflection of shifting feminist ideals in America. Prior to her producing career, Crocker worked as an actress with roles in television series such as Matlock and Dookie Howser MD, as well as over 75 national commercials. So she's been out there. Originally from San Clemente, California, she is a mother of three and has spoken about her personal journey, including her stay at home mom years and personal reinvention. How that has deeply influenced her storytelling approach.
Cristan is committed to telling stories that foster empathy and provide nuanced perspectives on underrepresented experiences and that feels so mom to me. Welcome to the show, Cristan. I cannot wait to dive into our conversation today.
Cristan Crocker (02:53)
Thank you very much. It's so good to be here. I love what you're doing. Thank you for doing this.
Sharon (02:56)
Thank you. you. thank you.
I'm so glad to ⁓ showcase your unique journey because I think it's really important for moms to hear who are going through this process.
I'm going to start with what I call my essential mom question. We know you have three kids. Where did you raise them?
Cristan Crocker (03:14)
The, ⁓ we grew up, the boys were raised in Pacific Palisades, basically Los Angeles.
Sharon (03:21)
Gotcha, gotcha. And so your decision to stay home with your boys, was it intentional or was it something you fell into?
Cristan Crocker (03:30)
It was both, ⁓ but it was a little of both. It was definitely intentional, but I did have twins first. So the decision is really made for you. ⁓ Yes, exactly. And as I'm sure every mom tells you, I wouldn't change it for the world. ⁓ It was exhausting, but it was also a huge learning curve. ⁓
Sharon (03:32)
Both, ⁓
That is so true.
Cristan Crocker (03:59)
really changed who I am as a person.
Sharon (04:02)
I want to delve into that for a second because I really like what you said. Talk a little about how it changed you forever as a person, as a woman.
Cristan Crocker (04:11)
Well, I think initially when you realize your body is no longer just about you, right? At the very beginning of all of that. And I did have some complications. So all of a sudden I had always been incredibly active and all this stuff. And all of a sudden I couldn't be, I was put on bed rest
I had to really cut back. And then it was when the twins were born, they were in the NICU.
I was in the NICU, I had preeclampsia. It was scary. yeah, and I remember when the doctor came in and he said, our priority is to save the mom. And I was like, But the babies, but I mean, now I get it, but it was just this whole different, you know, for me, it was like, no, no, take me, save the babies, you know, as we then do for the rest of our lives.
Sharon (04:42)
Yeah.
Cristan Crocker (05:05)
So there were these huge, you know, kind of paradigm shifts that happened where you were no longer in your own mind, the priority. ⁓ So there was a lot of...
Sharon (05:16)
Right. That just started
a lifetime of putting others before ourselves. Yeah.
Cristan Crocker (05:22)
100%. And then both babies were in the NICU.
⁓ And that's a whole other experience to where, when I went home without my babies, ⁓ yeah, yeah, yeah. And then you just kind of realize, and since this is about moms, which I love, I can talk about this kind of stuff. ⁓
Sharon (05:34)
That's hard. my gosh. Yeah.
Right, yeah, yeah. Because you're not
the only one who's experienced this either. Yeah.
Cristan Crocker (05:48)
Exactly. And
we can all relate to how painful that would be. And it just really is. And you don't even feel like a whole person anymore until, you know, then I got my babies back one at a time and you know, they're all fine and great and everything now, but yeah, it's a very different mindset.
Sharon (06:06)
That's true. That's true.
And you're right. Suddenly it's not about you anymore. It's about them. And yeah. And I think women have a really unique ability to do that. You almost go outside of yourself. We do. Yeah. Yeah. Right.
Cristan Crocker (06:12)
100%. Yeah.
Yes, they do. And you know
what? It doesn't always jive with what everybody else wants, but like that, yeah, it definitely does. Absolutely.
Sharon (06:30)
That's so true, so true.
Okay, so I'm gonna jump back to you were a full-time mom to three boys and you're also producing films, right?
Cristan Crocker (06:36)
Yes.
Yes,
Andrea and I started.
2009, maybe it was 2008. So I had two 10 year olds and I had a four year old. And then
Sharon (06:50)
So you
did all those mom years and then transitioned into producing.
Cristan Crocker (06:54)
Yes. Yes. Yes.
And Andrea, Andrea at that point had all three of her kids. So she had a, you know, an eight year old, a five year old and a two year old. So we, were all kind of, yeah, we were in the same wheelhouse and we decided very early on, look, we have six kids between us. you know, we are not going to be the ones that tell the story of how to die in Oregon. Like there's plenty of people.
Sharon (07:09)
my gosh.
Cristan Crocker (07:24)
You know, but that came out the same year as the other F word. And there's plenty of people who are brilliant storytellers that can tell that intense of a story. That was not going to be for us because we knew we would work. Both of our husbands were big career, you know, executives in the entertainment industry. And we knew that we would work, we would do drop off and then we would work from nine to three every day.
Sharon (07:27)
Right.
Cristan Crocker (07:49)
And we did that for the first year and a half. So much so that when I showed my rough cut to my at the time husband in December before we had already, we were about to get into South by our first ⁓ film festival, he turned and he was stunned. He was like, you guys have a real film here. And I was like, I know we've been working from nine to three, having this to be for 18 months, know. Exactly.
Sharon (08:07)
Right.
ye of little faith, right? That he was so surprised. Yeah.
Cristan Crocker (08:16)
Yeah, was kind of like, yeah, they're doing this little
project. And then he was like, wait, hang on. And then it, you know, so we were, we were feeling very smug about that.
Sharon (08:25)
Absolutely, as you should be. I also love the fact that you collaborated. And I think that's really important for women to realize you don't have to go this alone, right? You can collaborate with someone who is like-minded with you. And then there's that power of two brains and you both have the same priorities, which is the family first. And we've got this, you know, this very compact window of time where we have to get everything done. And you do,
Cristan Crocker (08:50)
it wouldn't have worked for either of us any other way. And it was this perfect moment in time and, you know, really supporting one another and really had the exact same priorities like you're talking about, ⁓ which was such a beautiful thing about our partnership.
Sharon (09:09)
That is so nice. So out of curiosity, what did your creative life look like between nine and three?
Cristan Crocker (09:17)
we would initially, there was, okay, I fibbed a little bit because initially, like when we were collecting footage, there were times ⁓ early on where we would pop out, we'd have to go to like punk shows and we'd have to go to the whiskey or we'd have to go here or we'd have to go there. So that was not happening between nine and three, but we were able to finesse it in a way. So I would say really importantly, like post-production,
Sharon (09:23)
Ha
Cristan Crocker (09:45)
but also early development meetings. we would meet early on, we would meet at someone's house ⁓ and then we would have those meetings and then we would go out and we would shoot. a lot of times even shooting, because don't forget we were shooting with new dads too. So they also had nap schedules and they had drop off and pick up and things like that. I mean, when we were really, I know, I know it was, yeah. And so, ⁓
Sharon (10:07)
I love that, I love that, yeah.
Cristan Crocker (10:14)
when we weren't traveling to shoot, ⁓ it was, it would literally be like, okay, here we go. And at 2.45, you know, see you later, bye. And frankly, you know, we're doing what we're doing and because it was us and then we brought in our DP slash editor slash assistant slash everything. He was fantastic right out of film school, Jeff. But, ⁓ you know, sometimes we'd have to, we'd take calls from the kids or schools or.
have to do emails or deal with some carpool issues or scheduling, you know, it was, yeah, what is that, you know, what is that famous statement? If you want to get something done, have a mom, busy mom do it. I mean, yeah, you develop so many different, the ability to be doing, you know, five different things at once.
Sharon (10:48)
Right? Life.
Ask a mom. Yeah.
and
Yeah, I love that story. I love that part of your story. you know, when we first spoke, Cristan, you had a really interesting take on the role of a stay at home mom and the challenges of balancing motherhood with your professional pursuits. So, you know, how do you stay creatively lit up during those years when it's like all hands on deck? ⁓ How do you keep those creative juices flowing? Like I remember wanting to return to my writing.
Cristan Crocker (11:08)
Thank you.
Sharon (11:35)
But my creative gene was like exhausted.
Cristan Crocker (11:37)
That's a really good question. mean, again, I will point to the beauty of the partnership I had with Andrea. We would talk between five and eight times a day if we weren't together. that was, gosh, I mean, it's so fulfilling to have something to work. That other part of your brain is working other than your mom brain, right? So we would have, you know, whatever, half an hour, like let's talk about
this for a half an hour. And then it would just, we were able to just kind of have this mind meld and need and talk about it. And then as our team kind of grew, we would have more, you know, more people that we could have these conversations with or reach out to. ⁓ but again, it's, I wouldn't say I had like, ⁓ a sand timer on my desk, but you definitely have in your mind, okay, I've got like 20 minutes right now where I can talk about this and
Sharon (12:30)
Mm-hmm.
Cristan Crocker (12:36)
the ability of like, okay, I got to wrap it up or postpone future conversations for later and things like that. But ⁓ it was so fulfilling and so satisfying. You kind of get addicted to it after a while. Like the mom only dimensional life. was like, no, no. You know, and then once you turn it on, I don't know if you found this, it's like, ⁓
I could tell that story or, ⁓ or you read something or you're, you know, watching TV or you come across something and you're like, I wonder what's happening with that. And is anybody making a documentary on that?
Sharon (13:11)
Right. You know, the other thing I wanted to point out was
when you were just talking about like mom brain, I, you know, I realized that while you are raising kids, your mom brain is going in a million different directions and you are accumulating an incredible skillset of things that you then take into your next chapter of life. So I'm just curious, you know, let's talk about some of the skills that you. ⁓
fine-tuned, honed, ⁓ and how that transferred into producing, because I'm sure there are many.
Cristan Crocker (13:48)
Well, don't they kind of seem like the same, right? They are, I mean, you produce a human and then you you make sure that human like thrives, stays alive and thrives and you you do your best to put that human into the world ⁓ and everything that that entails. ⁓ And so I would say back to the earlier thing about, you know, putting yourself
Sharon (13:50)
They really are one in the same. Yeah. Yeah.
Cristan Crocker (14:17)
no longer putting yourself first and realizing that there's others. That is like an early original shift where you're like, ⁓ no, this is what's best for the project. So then you start being able to kind of get that macro view of things. And that's one step. And then just basic organizational skills for sure. As far as scheduling, time, and it...
it becomes in a really satisfying way, like non-negotiable. Like this is when we're doing this, this is when we, as far as like your own structure. Now things obviously change as you know, whenever you're trying to create content, but it's really nice to be able to set it up and plan it and then execute it. And with the kids and logistics.
Listening, listening was another skill that you really. Right. mean, I don't know that I listened as much. And then you're like, I have to listen to my kids. And, and then you're like, ⁓ and I'm to listen to these adults as they're speaking. You just start listening more, think too. here. Yes.
Sharon (15:17)
That's a big one. Yeah, it's a big one.
Right. I think listening and really hearing, right? Because sometimes you can listen and blow it off,
and I think that's such a mom skill because we have to you're not only listening and you're hearing, but you're also listening and you're seeing and you're feeling the subtext. And especially if you're face to face.
Cristan Crocker (15:46)
Yes.
Yes, and troubleshooting and being nimble and like, okay, that's not working. Let's try something else. You know how with the kid, especially when they're little, like, hey, and they're screaming or yelling and you're okay, and you're in the market and like, okay, that's not working. What other things can do? Or even like if they're sick, right? Think of like the panic, oh, the acetaminophen isn't working or like.
Sharon (15:50)
Mm-hmm.
Right.
Cristan Crocker (16:15)
They're still throwing up or, also using your resources. That's a big thing too, right? I mean, I had to, because I had two babies at once. was, you know, was all hands on deck 24 seven. And it was like, okay, I need this. I need that. Like getting your team together. That's another skill that I learned how to do. And that is one that I've just continued to take through my life in anything I do. And the ability to be like, cause we would always call ourselves a tiny team because there was only three of us initially. And then we,
grew to four people, but we were nimble, we were, you know, economical and, you know, you would definitely ⁓ have to come up with different solutions all the time.
Sharon (16:59)
Right, it's also very mom,
trait to be able to just pivot on a dime. And I have spoken with so many women and many of them say that their husbands or spouses, your partners just can't do that. You know, they'll think you're doing X and then all of a sudden you say to them, nope, we're doing Y because whatever happened and we can't do that, we have to do this. And the woman just goes to the floor and the guy's like, ⁓ wait a minute. You know, so yeah.
Cristan Crocker (17:25)
A lot. Well,
and if you think about it too, biologically that we are made to adapt and change, right?
Sharon (17:34)
Hey, Kristen, we are going to take a short break and when we return, we are going to talk about Barbie. Yeah, that Barbie.
Cristan Crocker (17:34)
Yes.
Sharon (18:48)
OK, excited to talk about this. Barbie. So you, interestingly, are all about Barbie in so many unique and intertwined ways. So let's talk about those.
Cristan Crocker (19:01)
Barbie came into my life in my later years because of course I had one growing up. ⁓ My producing partner Andrea knew, had a very good friend that worked at Mattel and was having dinner with her one night. And like I mentioned earlier, sometimes these things just organically come up and the friend was talking about how passionate everyone
Sharon (19:06)
We all did, yeah.
Cristan Crocker (19:28)
is at Mattel about what they do and how much they love it. And Andrew was like, that sounds like it's a documentary that needs to be made. So that's how the seed started and germinated. then it was nine months of legal wrangling before we could finally take a camera into Mattel, into the creative center in El Segundo.
And then we filmed for six or seven months. We got very fortunate and got, yeah, I mean, it was incredible. No one had ever had access like that before. And it was really cool. And ⁓ then we filmed the process of them changing the body types for the first time and the ultimate reveal of the curvy body, the shorter body, the tall body.
Sharon (19:58)
Amazing access. Yeah.
Hmm.
Cristan Crocker (20:20)
And so that was kind of our Barbie storyline. But woven into that, we really were telling the story of the history of feminism and how Barbie has and has not at times reflected that course for women.
For me, one of the most fascinating realizations, which I didn't realize consciously, but clearly it's why I love to play with the doll.
Sharon (20:36)
up.
Cristan Crocker (20:44)
⁓ Is that, you know, Ruth created the doll as something for her daughter, Barbara, that was other than a baby. Because until that point, the only doll that you had was a baby that you can take care of. And Ruth was like, no, I want something that my daughter can project herself onto that's like a career that is going out in the world. So,
Sharon (20:57)
You're right. Baby dolls. Yeah.
Cristan Crocker (21:13)
Barbie was on the moon before Neil Armstrong. There was a Barbie, Dr. Barbie before women were allowed to be doctors. So she was so far ahead of everything. And I just loved that. And I think Greta ended up using it in the movie to great effect in the Barbie movie where she shows at the very beginning the little girls playing with the Barbie dolls and then they take it and smash it down.
you know, and I was like, yeah, yeah, that's, you know, it was a really fun way to kind of, it came from us, Yeah.
Sharon (21:43)
That came from you guys. Yeah,
So Tiny Shoulders really dives into reinvention Barbies and then by extension, ours, societies. So did working on Tiny Shoulders help you reflect on your own reinvention journey beyond motherhood and if so,
Cristan Crocker (22:02)
That's a really good question.
What it did actually is I loved the focus on the history of feminism. And I loved, it was, I guess, not a reinvention, but more like an affirmation as a woman and how far we have come and how far we still need to go, you know, and how some of the battles, I mean, we were also filming this believing that Hillary Clinton was gonna be
the next president. So it was really fascinating. You know, there was this whole momentum.
and so I love doing the deep dive into the history of women and really understanding that because I never was a feminist major.
so I really loved that. And it was very empowering for me.
kind of understand the context really of how much more there needs to be done for women. And talking to people like Gloria Steinem, Roxane Gay, I mean, fascinating facts, women with
so many important things to say. So I guess it was just more of my evolution as far as learning from these pockets of, you know,
the world, mean, kind of the whole purpose. I mean, the greatest fulfillment of doing documentaries is how much I personally learned from each of these subsets or subcultures of people. mean, women aren't a subculture, but like the hardcore feminist and different things like that and how that really enlightened me
Sharon (23:43)
yeah, I mean, what a wonderful learning and growing experience for you while you were also filming this and ultimately enlightening the world through that documentary. You know, I'm also curious from a producer perspective, how did motherhood shape your storytelling lens
Like, did it shift the kind of stories that you felt drawn to?
Cristan Crocker (24:07)
Well, one point I will make too for me is don't forget, I have three boys. So there were no Barbies in my house. I think as a mother, as a parent, most of us realize that our most important part of our job in that area, in that role is to raise good humans. And I felt like,
Sharon (24:14)
That's true, yeah.
Cristan Crocker (24:34)
you know, if you look at the chronology of it, to show my kids the football players and then, you know, their vulnerabilities and their struggles, and then also to show them a side of the world that for sure they would never have, you know, it would have been like Barbie, ooh, but, you know, we were at the premiere together and it really opened their eyes to things. And I think that's one of the things that I'm most proud of as well. ⁓
is that it helps my own kids to kind of, they're gonna watch it cause their mom made it. ⁓ Whereas otherwise, and by the way, they all watch documentaries now. And I love that. And I love that they pursue, you know, stories of real people and they wanna learn more about humans. so it's kind of, I wouldn't say a specific story is influenced by being a mother, but just more.
the actual reporting and talking about real people and showing them that. I mean, because we can get very siloed in our lives, right? And especially like with social media and the algorithms and things like that. So I'm always trying to send or did and, you know, they're older now, but, you know, there's certain things that they watch like, wow, that was fantastic. And so.
Sharon (25:37)
Right.
Right, so interesting. Yeah, yeah.
Cristan Crocker (25:59)
That was another part of it. And Andrea has a daughter and two sons. So there was only one girl in all six kids. So it was fun for us to bring, and Barbie was everywhere. We had dolls everywhere. We had, it was pink. It was all these things. So it was, it was fun.
Sharon (26:01)
Yeah.
But in some ways, what you did was you opened up, I'm not sure if saying the feminine side is the right way to phrase it, but you opened up a side, a part of all these young men, these boys and young men, to understand women in a more organic way than maybe they would have before. So I think you really did them a service to...
have them understand just a broader perspective of the world.
Cristan Crocker (26:46)
Thank you, exactly. You articulated it much better than I did. No, but that's exactly it. I mean, even when they're younger, ⁓ like a punk rocker, a punk rocker, what I love about that story is that these are guys that you would cross the street to avoid. But once you get to know them, you see that the outside, were like, we used to say they were like porcupines. They have these spiky.
outer size to kind of keep everybody away. There was a reason they all got into punk rock and it was usually a very difficult childhood. And once you get past all the spiky, you know, stay away stuff, it's just these soft little sweet poets underneath and, you know, usually really intelligent. and that was a great thing to teach the kids to like not be afraid, not be, you know, try to see.
what's inside of people.
Sharon (27:46)
Exactly, don't judge them by their cover. Absolutely. So since we've been talking about Barbie, aside from Barbie, who is the queen, ⁓ which of Mattel's other Barbie adjacent characters were your favorite?
Cristan Crocker (28:00)
that's a good one. remember we got the, it was so cool. We got to go into the archives and their archives were just an old warehouse. Honestly. I mean, I'm hopeful that they, if they see this, you know, that they had, they were, they had all these great plans to like do historical, you know, basically put a museum in there. But when we were there, they just opened this old metal, you know, cabinet that had been closed. I mean, the smell of plastic and we were just like, I mean, it was hot and
Anyway, it was really funny, but every single doll was there. everything, mean, all the originals,
Sharon (28:35)
my gosh.
Cristan Crocker (28:39)
which was really fascinating. I mean, you gotta love Ken. And this was before the movie. And frankly, I thought Ken was brilliant in the movie, loved him. And I just loved it.
Sharon (28:50)
Yeah, okay, was hysterical. Yeah.
Cristan Crocker (28:52)
So I have to say Ken, and when you break down what Ken has been through and all his different looks
I would have to say Ken.
Yeah.
Sharon (28:58)
thank you for that. I love that.
Okay, so Kristen, since you have been there and done that, what re-advention advice do you have for moms who are wondering right now what their next chapter might be?
Cristan Crocker (29:11)
I would say listen to your gut as a mom and just try. Just take that step.
Don't be afraid to fail, and just take, the failure is where you learn frankly.
Sharon (29:24)
Right, exactly.
Cristan Crocker (29:27)
And if you have people that you see eye to eye with, or there's that mom in the carpool line that you guys always laugh at the same joke, or if you find you have a similar energy. again, I love having a partner and working with a team. ⁓ I would say, take it a extra step, you know? kind of see if there's a spark
that you two could share kind of like that you can collaborate on. Whatever it is, brownies for the bake sale.
Sharon (29:54)
Right, like a collaboration, exactly. Yeah, yeah, that's.
Cristan Crocker (29:59)
go try and make those brownies together and see how they turn out. You never know.
Sharon (30:03)
You could start a food company. Exactly. There you go. I've heard and I've interviewed people who've done just that. ⁓ Cookies, cookies, not brownies. Okay, so talk to me about new projects on the horizon. What do you have going on now?
Cristan Crocker (30:04)
like the next Susie Cakes or something. Exactly. Yeah.
Right? Yeah. Yeah.
Well,
really ⁓ my passion and this came out of the Barbie documentary is telling the story of Ruth Hamler, the woman that created Mattel and created Barbie. And she built Mattel with her husband, Elliot. And we ⁓ got the life rights. And it was after every screening of Tiny Shoulders, one of the first two or three questions was always, well, what about Ruth?
And I remember thinking, how do people not know her story? She is unofficially the first female CEO of Fortune 500 company, even though K. Graham gets the credit because, well, Ruth never would take a title higher than Elliot. So she always stayed SVP
Sharon (31:01)
you
Cristan Crocker (31:02)
she was all about building the business. It was less about her own title and all this, but.
Sharon (31:06)
But Barbie was
her baby. That's her baby. Yeah.
Cristan Crocker (31:08)
Barbie was her baby, Mattel was her baby, her husband was
really the dreamer and the creator, but she was the business woman. talk about reinvention. mean, her story, after she got kicked out of Mattel, there was issues with the SEC and she took the fall and she left the company. That was a whole thing. And then, ⁓
Sharon (31:14)
Interesting.
Cristan Crocker (31:34)
Back in those days, if you did a mammogram or if they found a lump, instead of biopsying it, what they would do is they would remove your entire breast. you had to sign before you went under that you would allow them to do that. So she went under and woke up. And after five times of waking up intact, woke up the sixth time with one of her breasts missing.
the way that it was removed ended up causing her pain for the rest of her life. I know. But she created a second company called Nearly Me that is still in business. And it is the first breast prosthesis for women that cannot afford, and back in those days, it wasn't really even an option, but for the women that cannot afford reconstructive surgery. So that was her passion in life.
And she hired all women at her company for it was called Nearly Me. And she ended up calling the company Ruthton because Mattel, that was Harold Matson and Elliot. And we have that in the documentary where Elliot was like, we tried to fit in Ruth, we could root, Roommat, like it didn't work. So it was called Mattel. Like really? So she named her next company Ruthton to make sure her name was in that company.
And she would travel around, she'd get in the car with her granddaughter, Cheryl, who we love. That's, we're the first people to ever make a deal with the family for Ruth's life rights. And it's with Barbara, her daughter, and Cheryl, her granddaughter. We love working with them. I've partnered with Rita Wilson on it. And she would drive Cheryl around, they'd drive around the country and go into, and Ruth was like in her sixties at the time, go into dressing rooms with big cartons.
and she would fit all the women individually. That became her life's passion. And yeah, mean, always, always, and so far ahead of herself. that became, you know, and there's a clip at the end of the documentary where she's talking to Merv Griffin, and she's like, yeah, you wanna see, you know, and he's like, no, but he's like feeling him. And he's like, can you imagine if people are tuning in right now, you know?
Sharon (33:30)
I love that. Always a champion of women. I love that.
Hahaha
Cristan Crocker (33:51)
And she's like, I'm wearing them right now. I mean, she was such a pistol. She was such a character. There was no one like her. So we are developing that movie right now, ⁓ which we're so excited about. Thank you. She's an incredible woman and everybody needs to know her story.
Sharon (34:01)
I can't wait to see that when it comes out. Yeah, that's super exciting.
Oh, that's going to be fabulous, Kristen. Thank you for sharing that. OK, unfortunately, our time is coming to a close. So I have a question that I ask all of my amazing moms that I have the privilege of interviewing, and that is, since this is the Mom2More podcast, Kristen Crocker, what is your more?
Cristan Crocker (34:26)
That is such a good question. And the fact that you put that out there really made me think about it too. So thank you. I don't know specifically, but I'm really kind of leaning towards local news. I'm in a small town right now and the importance of local news.
And I'm really finding myself kind of gravitating towards that. And just the local news, like what's happening in your community. Where everybody's so global, everything is so gentrified. But I think people really want to know what's happening on Main Street and how long that construction is going to be going on, right? And the value of that. So I'm not sure how it's going to really, you know, pan out, but that's kind of where I'm heading in addition to telling people, thank you.
Sharon (35:12)
Interesting, I like that. Haven't heard
that yet. Yeah. No, I haven't. And that could make, that could also manifest in many different ways. So I love where you're heading. Thank you for that.
Cristan Crocker (35:15)
You haven't?
Yes.
Sharon (35:22)
So Cristan, please tell our listeners where they can find you online and also where they can find the films that we have been talking about.
Cristan Crocker (35:32)
Well, the other F word I think you can get on Amazon, ⁓ the two play it forward, the story of Tony Gonzalez and his brother, Chris, and that one you can get on Showtime and ⁓ happiness, the science of happiness through the lens of football, which we did with Pete Berg, that's on HBO and Hulu, Tiny Shoulders, Rethinking Barbie, you can get on Hulu.
Sharon (36:00)
Thank you. And also for you, Instagram IMDB.
Cristan Crocker (36:03)
For me,
I am on IMDB, thank you, and I'm on LinkedIn and I'm on Instagram as Kristen Four. It's private, but you you give me a little high.
Sharon (36:16)
Folks, if you wanna follow Kristen, follow her there, folks. Everything is going to be in the show notes. So no worries about that. And Kristen Crocker, what a fabulous conversation. So I learned so much today. I cannot wait to see the film about Ruth Handler that you're working on. And this has just been delightful. So I wanna thank you for your mom wisdom and your insights and just, it's been a wonderful conversation.
Cristan Crocker (36:43)
Sharon, I loved it and enjoyed it. And again, thank you for focusing on the moms. I think it's just brilliant.