She has started two businesses in the series: a bistro scooter called "Go Bistro" and a dog walking service called "Watkins' Woofs and Walks." She is also a fashion designer and talented ice skater in the show. In Barbie: Dreamhouse Adventures, Nikki is a youthful entrepreneur. Nikki is fun-loving and caring and opinionated. She is very creative and fun and she is one of Barbie's best friends. She is very intelligent, bold and loyal to her friends and will often speak out for them if other people try to bring them down. She is a fashion blogger and she likes to find different places to go where she can hang out with her friends. She hates fakes/phonies, cutesy viral videos and people mean to her best friends. She likes finding "hip" things/places, takes pictures and works on a vlog, and does acting/dancing. Her last name was changed to "Watkins" in 2018 in the series, Barbie: Dreamhouse Adventures. She is the younger sister of Christie O'Neil and the older sister of Janet and Deidre O'Neil. She also appears as "Artsy" in Mattel's Barbie: Fashionistas line of dolls.
She is featured in various Barbie movies and the Life in the Dreamhouse web series. With a new addition of friends for Barbie (Teresa is the only remaining character with Midge, Ken, and Steven) Nikki, along Summer, Raquelle, Ryan, and Blaine, is one of Barbie’s closest friends. In the trade paperbacks, Nikki is featured in "A Surprise for a Friend". Since then, Nikki has been featured in several Barbie doll series. Nikki debuted as one of Barbie's best friends in the Beach Fun Line and later in Fashion Fever Line. Since 2005, she has replaced Christie as one of Barbie's friends.
Nikki was originally released as the younger sister of Christie, one of Barbie's former best friends, and was Skipper's first African American friend. Her character debuted in 1996 as part of the "Teen Skipper" line. Nicole "Nikki" O'Neil (also known as Nikki Watkins) is a Mattel fashion doll, marketed as one of Barbie's best friends. Mattel fashion doll Nicole "Nikki" O'Neil