Hansi Share (1887-1981) was born Johanna Zender in Berlin. She was married to Hermann Ploschitzki, owner of a department store in Potsdam and co-owner of Karstadt, a department store group. Hermann died in 1932, leaving his wife a substantial amount of money and a valuable art collection. Hansi then married the painter and write Julius Wilhlem Fehr, who she divorced around 1941. As a Jew, Hansi experienced oppression under the Nazis, and emigrated to California in the late 1930s. She arrived penniless because the Nazis confiscated and sold all of her property, including the art collection. By 1940, Hansi was listed in the US Census (she became a naturalized citizen in 1945), which also lists her as being married to Leon M. Share, a Russian-American 11 years her junior, who sponsored her immigration. The two lived in Hollywood. In 1949, Leon is listed as the filer on a patent for a princess doll, which was created by his wife.

Hansi's dolls, produced between 1941 and 1957 by her Monica Doll Company, were noted for their use of real human hair rooted in the scalp, and faces that were modeled after famous Hollywood stars and that incorporated pouty lips and painted eyes. The bodies of these dolls were notable for being longer and leaner than other dolls of the period. They were marked with the names Monica, Veronica, Joan, Rosalind and Marion and sold at upscale stores like Neiman Marcus and F.A.O. Schwarz.

[Adapted from Wikipedia, https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hansi_Share]