Polly Pocket Inventor Chris Wiggs Dies At 74

Chris Wiggs died on June 20 at the age of 74.
He had been diagnosed with a rare form of rare neurological cancer.
Wiggs invented Polly Pocket after creating a gift for his daughter made out of a makeup compact.

On June 20, Chris Wiggs died at the age of 74. The toy designer passed away peacefully after a private health battle while he was in France. Wiggs was surrounded by family and loved ones when he died. News of his passing comes from reporting from The New York Post. Wiggs had been diagnosed with a rare type of neurological cancer.

Wiggs is responsible for inventing the Polly Pocket toys, originally designed in 1983, then distributed by Bluebird Toys in 1989, followed by Mattel from ’98 to the present day. The toy line started as a repurposed makeup compact Wiggs used to make a gift for his daughter.

Chris Wiggs created Polly Pocket

Chris Wiggs and his daughter Kate / YouTube screenshot

An East London native, Wiggs had been in New York on business when he first conjured up the idea of a compact, portable world for a tiny doll. He cradled that idea close in his mind’s eye throughout the rest of the trip, until he finally made it home, where he beelined for his workshop and got to work, figuring out the logistics and constructing this tiny toy house.

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He was intent on creating this not just to see a creative idea see the light of day, but especially to present it as a special gift to his daughter Kate.

“I’m trying to remember the first moment he handed over the compact,” Kate recalled of the big reveal, “and I think it would have just been very ordinary. ‘Oh, I made this. Here you go.’ Because he was always making stuff, it was the most natural thing in the world.”

A popular plaything

The original Polly Pocket started off as a repurposed makeup compact / Flickr

For six years, the original Polly Pocket prototype stayed in Kate’s toy chest, until Wiggs came across it and thought to expand his audience and introduce Polly to the wider children’s toy market. The question of would Polly Pocket do well as a product was swiftly answered with $180 million in sales by 1994.

Although it would never beat out the iconic Barbie series of dolls, Polly Pocket did sell over 10 million units over the years, according to Mattel.

RIP Chris Wiggs (1950-2024)
The Creator of Polly Pocket and Mighty Max pic.twitter.com/jeDblBSIw8

— Daniel Arseneault "Protoman" (@Protoman) June 29, 2024

Generally, Wiggs has favored privacy for himself and his family—especially his kids—but he did have the surreal experience of realizing just how far Polly’s reach became, a revelation that daughter Kate has also basked in.

“The first time I saw a fully packaged, ready-to-go Polly Pocket … it was an odd experience,” she mused. “It was kind of knowing what the package contained, the potential of what it contained for all these imaginary worlds for the kids, but also I just felt really proud of my dad.”

Rest in peace, Chris Wiggs.