From the Illawarra Stingrays' pink strip to her own Barbie, Mary Fowler's speechless

The former Wollongong High School of the Performing Arts student is one of eight trailblazing sportswomen to be honoured with a one-of-a-kind doll in their likeness.

The latest release of dolls comes off the back of Barbie's 65^th anniversary and her reinvention as a feminist icon thanks to Greta Gerwig's Academy Award-nominated movie Barbie.

Fowler said she was "speechless" after seeing the doll - complete with trademark black gloves.

"When I saw myself as Barbie for the first time, it was crazy; I was honestly just a bit speechless," she said. "I never would have thought I'd have a Barbie that looks just like me.

"Being a positive influence, and seeing young girls recreate my look has been so special, and to finally hold my doll and see her wear my bubble braid, my gloves and even my boots, made my Barbie doll unique and connected to me.

"There are so many other incredible women that have been Barbie dolls and I just never would have thought that I would be up there with them. I'm just super grateful and honoured to be part of this."

Fowler worked closely with Barbie to create her one-of-a-kind doll, she said: "I wanted to have my Barbie doll replicate when I feel my most confident self and that for me is when I'm on the pitch playing football.

Fowler, who attended the school in 2018 and took the female soccer team to a Combined High Schools' championship, shot to prominence as a 16-year-old at the 2019 Women's World Cup.

After leaving the A-League Women for Montpellier HSC in France, she signed a four year deal at English Women's Super League club Manchester City and scored an unforgettable goal in the quarter-finals of the Tokyo Olympics.

That was all before the 2023 World Cup when the then 20-year-old hit a whole new level as she stepped up for the Matildas in striker Sam Kerr's injury-enforced absence.

Back in February she played a starring role when the Matildas wrapped up qualification for the 2024 Olympics in Melbourne.

She finished Australia's final qualifiers against Uzbekistan with two goals, an assist, her 50th Matildas cap, qualification for her second Olympics and a happy snap with Cathy Freeman.

The other celebrated athletes are US tennis player Venus Williams, Canadian soccer player Christine Sinclair, French boxer Estelle Mossely, Mexican gymnast Alexa Moreno, Brazilian gymnast Rebecca Andrade, Spanish doctor and paratriathlon athlete Susana Rodriguez, Italian swimmer Federica Pellegrini, and Polish track and field sprinter Ewa Swoboda.