Rachel Accurso, better known as Ms. Rachel, is an American YouTuber, social media personality, songwriter, and educator. She is best known for creating the YouTube series Songs for Littles, a children's music series focused on language development for toddlers and infants.
| Ms. Rachel | ||||||||||
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| Personal information | ||||||||||
| Born | Rachel Griffin November 30, 1982 Biddeford, Maine, U.S. | |||||||||
| Occupations |
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| Spouse | Aron Accurso | |||||||||
| YouTube information | ||||||||||
| Channel | ||||||||||
| Years active | 2019–present | |||||||||
| Genres | ||||||||||
| Subscribers | 9.25 million[1] (April 16th, 2024) | |||||||||
| Total views | 6,066,411,969[1] (April 16th, 2024) | |||||||||
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Last updated: January 9, 2024 | ||||||||||
Life and career edit
Rachel Griffin was born in Biddeford, Maine and raised in Sanford, Maine. She attended Sanford High School, where she did theatre, and the University of Southern Maine.[2] She earned a master's degree in music education from New York University and worked as a music teacher at a public preschool in New York City before starting her YouTube channel.[3] As of 2023[update], she is pursuing a second master's degree in early childhood education.[4]
She started her YouTube channel in 2019 under the name Ms. Rachel with her husband, Broadway music director and composer Aron Accurso; they created the channel in response to the lack of media resources for her son who had a speech delay and did not say his first word until he was two years old.[5][3] She created Songs for Littles, a children's music YouTube series made up of a combination of classic children's songs, such as nursery rhymes, and original music for toddlers and infants.[6] It was originally started as an in-person class led by Griffin-Accurso and was inspired by the techniques of her son's early childhood intervention speech therapist with a focus on language development milestones and inclusive subject matter.[5][3][7] The channel became especially popular starting in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and has over seven million subscribers as of 2024[update].[8]
Songs for Littles features Accurso as the star, with her signature outfit of a pink shirt with overalls and a headband,[9] alongside diverse cast and crew members including actress and teacher Keisha Gilles, diversity and inclusion consultant Alexa Smith, speech therapist Frida Matute, animator and editor Beth Jean, singer-songwriter Jules Hoffman,[9] actress Natalie Kaye Clater, and Accurso's husband Aron, the last of whom writes and arranges music for the series and operates two puppet characters named Georgie and Herbie.[3][7][4] Accurso also became popular on TikTok as Ms. Rachel, where she had over two and a half million followers by March 2023.[3][10] Accurso took a break from TikTok in February 2023, citing her mental health as the reason.[5] The break was assumed by fans to be in response to backlash from some parents on the platform against Accurso's co-star Jules Hoffman for using they/them pronouns.[10] However, some[who?] argue that Accurso's inclusion on the show brought positive representation for children.[citation needed] That same month, Accurso returned to TikTok while she and Songs for Littles were signed to Creative Artists Agency.[9][4]
References edit
- ^ a b "About Ms Rachel - Toddler Learning Videos". YouTube.
- ^ Goldberg, Lee (April 10, 2023). "Former Maine teacher 'Ms Rachel' posts educational videos for the masses". News Center Maine. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Hanson, Kait (December 7, 2022). "Who is Ms. Rachel and why are your kids obsessed with her?". Today. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
- ^ a b c Hailu, Selome (March 7, 2023). "Ms. Rachel and 'Songs for Littles' Sign With CAA". Variety. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
- ^ a b c Hogan, Kate (March 3, 2023). "Internet Sensation Ms. Rachel on Her Break from TikTok: 'Self-Care Is Important'". People. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
- ^ Thompson Payton, L'Oreal (October 19, 2022). "Screen time may not be as bad for children as previously thought". Fortune. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
- ^ a b Borresen, Kelsey (December 8, 2022). "12 Kids' TV Shows That Experts Let Their Own Children Watch". HuffPost. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
- ^ Jones, CT (March 10, 2023). "A Kids YouTuber Uses They/Them Pronouns. Some Parents Just Found Out -- And Lost Their Minds". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
- ^ a b c Hanson, Kait (March 7, 2023). "Ms. Rachel returns to social media with honest message about 'boundaries'". Today. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
- ^ a b Sung, Morgan (March 2, 2023). "Viral kids' star Ms. Rachel is taking a break from social media after backlash over co-star who uses they/them pronouns". NBC News. Retrieved March 11, 2023.