Living with over 1,000 dolls keeps this 67-year-old forever young

Free Malaysia Today

Collecting since the age of seven, Elizabeth Chrysostom has filled her home with a wide variety of dolls, from Barbies to Sindys.   Written and presented by: Theevya Ragu  Shot and edited by: Andrea Edmonds   Read More:  https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/leisure/2025/06/14/living-with-over-1000-dolls-keeps-elizabeth-young-at-heart   Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com  Follow FMT on Facebook: https://bit.ly/49JJoo5  Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM  Follow FMT on X: https://bit.ly/48zARSW  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/48Cq76h  Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3uKuQFp  Follow FMT Berita on TikTok: https://bit.ly/48vpnQG  Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/42VyzMX  Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/42YytEb  Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/42WrsUj  Follow FMT on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/49GMbxW  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Download FMT News App:  Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46  App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ  Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP   ##FMTLifestyle #WorldDollDay #MalaysiasBarbieQueen

Transcript

00:00So then my friend said, she heard them say,

00:03strange person I am, collecting dolls.

00:07So that's what I get.

00:15At 67 years old, Elizabeth Chrysostom is living every little girl's dream,

00:21a house filled with over a thousand dolls.

00:25And it all started when she was seven years old.

00:30Over here, I call her Fergie.

00:35She is my first doll, right, 60 years ago.

00:40So she, I call her Fergie, she has red hair.

00:43So she's given to me by my sis, my elder sister.

00:48And that sparked an interest in my doll collection.

00:53June 14 is World Doll Day,

00:56and there is no one in Malaysia who knows dolls better than Elizabeth.

01:00She has it all.

01:02Barbie dolls, Cindy dolls, Robert Toner dolls,

01:05celebrity dolls, baby dolls, and even doll houses.

01:09People think this is child's play, but it's not, okay?

01:14It's just, you know, it's a grown-up passion.

01:17And if you can't afford it, don't go for it.

01:20But if you can, it gives you a lot of joy as well, you see?

01:23So then when I made the money, I said, okay.

01:27But when I sell them, it's like my heart goes with them as well.

01:31Because I had that question, which one is your favorite doll?

01:36I said, do you ask that to your kids?

01:38Which one is your favorite kid, right?

01:41So I said, okay, every doll is my favorite.

01:45I've got a piece of my heart in all my dolls.

01:48Her attachment to each doll is what led to cabinet upon cabinet filled with them.

01:54And she doesn't discriminate.

01:56Each doll is special, whether it's plastic or porcelain, big or small.

02:02Each one, some dating back to the 1970s, has a special story.

02:07And then even my sisters, when they got married, yeah,

02:10I insisted we have a doll at the bonnet of the car.

02:15Nobody does that anymore, right?

02:17You never think of putting a doll at the bonnet of a bridal car, right?

02:22So my eldest sister, in 1977, she got married.

02:26So I took the doll to the tailor that was doing her wedding dress.

02:31And then we dressed up the doll in the same material as her bridal outfit.

02:38So the outfit is destroyed, but I still got a piece of her, the outfit.

02:42So that's the story.

02:44But they're not just fancy showpieces.

02:47Elizabeth loves maintaining, dusting, and caring for each and every doll.

02:52One of her favorite pastimes for relieving stress is dressing her dolls up and giving them a makeover.

02:59People like to say, oh, you're playing with dolls, you're so old.

03:03No.

03:04I mean, if something brings you joy, why do you want to stop it?

03:08Why do you want to, you know, say bad about such things?

03:13Yeah, it's like some people are afraid of dolls.

03:15Yes, many.

03:17In fact, one of my neighbors came in when I first shifted in and he looked around and he said,

03:22you've got a lot of dolls that belong to old humans.

03:27Like I got, you know, like Jackie Kennedy or Princess Diana or all these, you know, old dolls.

03:36So he said, it's not good at all, not good at all to have the spirits in the doll.

03:42I said, no way, they're dolls to me.

03:47Elizabeth's dolls are her closest companions and most treasured belongings.

03:51She ensures each one is safely stored and out of reach from wandering hands.

03:56While she worries about the fate of her dolls when she is no longer here,

04:01Elizabeth's dream is for them to be exhibited for public viewing

04:04and for her dolls to live on long after she's gone.

04:11Viviaragu, FMT

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