Bonnie D. Zacherle (born November 14, 1946) is an American illustrator and designer who now resides in Warrenton, Virginia.
She had performed freelance work for Hasbro Toy Company since the mid-1970s and they had a standing offer of a full-time position for her if she ever wanted it.
She took them up on the offer and joined Hasbro as an Illustrator in Research and Development at the company headquarters in Pawtucket, Rhode Island in 1980.
In August 1981, while working for Hasbro, Zacherle, along with sculptor Charles Muenchinger of Providence, Rhode Island and Manager Steve D'Aguanno of Smithfield, Rhode Island, submitted a design patent for "an ornamental design for a toy animal".
Although an immediate bestseller, the doll was discontinued in favor of producing a toy line of similar-looking figures under the trademark name "My Little Pony", mostly designed by Susanne Riette in the late 1980s and 1990s.
In explanation, Zacherle has noted that she originally intended the franchise to appeal to both preschool girls and boys, although she never anticipated that it would later be written for an older child audience, much less catching the interest of the adult "brony" fandom that has arisen.
Her first appearance at a Brony convention was June 6 and 7, 2014 at Big Apple Ponycon[7] (now PonyconNYC) where she was welcomed warmly with a standing ovation and cheers from the attendees.