Best Friend Characters

The Best Friend line of historical dolls debuted in 2004 with Nellie O'Malley, Samantha's best friend, and the first American Girl movie Samantha: An American Girl Holiday. Except for Ivy Ling, Julie Albright's best friend, each one was released as a tie-in to the movie and her collection reflects this.

List of Best Friend Dolls

 * 2004 - Nellie O'Malley, Samantha's best friend
 * 2005 - Elizabeth Cole, Felicity's best friend
 * 2006 - Emily Bennett, Molly's best friend
 * 2007 - Ivy Ling, Julie's best friend
 * 2008 - Ruthie Smithens, Kit's best friend

Elizabeth
In Felicity's illustrations,  Elizabeth had brown hair and eyes. When the made-for-tv movie Felicity: An American Girl Adventure came out, however, the actress was blonde-haired with blue eyes. The doll was made to resemble the actress and the illustrations were Photoshopped so that there were no discrepencies.

Emily
Although the line is called "Best Friends," Emily is far from being  Molly's best friend. She had appeared in only one of Molly's books, Happy Birthday, Molly!, as a temporary house guest seeking refuge from war-time London. The made-for-tv movie Molly: An American Girl on the Homefront retold Molly's stories to give Emily a greater role. One of Molly's mysteries The Light in the Cellar also gave Emily a much greater role than she had previously had, but it fit itself within the standard Molly chronology.

The illustrations of Emily in Happy Birthday, Molly! were also Photoshopped. Her hair was lengthened from a bob to shoulder-length and her clothes were changed to reflect the actual items sold for the doll.