The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Kat Bjelland, along with drummer Lori Barbero and bassist Michelle Leon, who was later replaced by Maureen Herman in 1992.

Babes in Toyland released three studio albums: Spanking Machine (1990), followed by the commercially successful Fontanelle (1992), and Nemesisters (1995), before becoming inactive in 1997 and eventually disbanding in 2001.

[6] Babes in Toyland formed in 1987, after frontwoman Kat Bjelland met drummer Lori Barbero at a friend's barbecue.

'"[9] In its initial formation in 1987, in addition to Bjelland and Barbero, the band included Kris Holetz on bass and singer Cindy Russell.

"[12] However, Michelle Leon, who was hired as the group's bass player, claimed that she was briefly replaced by Love as bassist shortly after joining.

[14] Local journalist Jon Bream, who initially disparaged the band, recalled: "They were a sort of loud, abrasive, angry, obnoxious thing at first and very amateurish in a sense.

[18] Babes in Toyland subsequently performed alongside Sonic Youth at 1991's Reading Festival,[19] which was documented in Dave Markey's music documentary, 1991: The Year Punk Broke.

[15] Their second studio album, Fontanelle was recorded in Cannon Falls, Minnesota and in New York City, and featured production from Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo.

Sherman's photos appear on the covers of Fontanelle and the group's second EP, Painkillers, and the imagery was recreated on stage banners with the artist's permission.

[27] In 1993, the band was chosen to take part in that year's Lollapalooza tour,[28] playing alongside such acts as Primus, Alice in Chains, Dinosaur Jr. and Rage Against the Machine.

[35] Tours for the album took place throughout Europe - notably with a date at Denmark's Roskilde Festival - the United States, and Australia.

[36] Original bassist Michelle Leon briefly rejoined the band for a short period in 1997, when Babes in Toyland were constantly breaking up and reforming and planning on releasing a fourth studio album.

[38] In an interview with Lancer Radio at Pasadena College on July 26, 2014, Kat Bjelland and Maureen Herman confirmed that they were getting back together to write new material and play shows.

[42] In Minneapolis, where the band formed, the trio played on the Walker Art Center's lawn for the two-day Rock the Garden festival, June 20–21, 2015.

[6] In May 2020, speaking on the podcast Conan Neutron's Protonic Reversal, Lori Barbero said that there was very little chance of future reunions from the band.

[47] Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote of the band: "Babes in Toyland is about as harsh as rock music gets–guitarist Kat Bjelland screams and thrashes her guitar to the gut-pounding, throttling beat of bassist Maureen Herman and drummer Lori Barbero... the all-female trio offer no escape from their strongly female-oriented, but not necessarily feminist, rock.

[49] The band has been honored with a star on the outside mural of the Minneapolis nightclub First Avenue,[50] recognizing performers that have played sold-out shows or have otherwise demonstrated a major contribution to the culture at the iconic venue.