Ms. Rachel

Ms. Rachel
Personal information
Born
Rachel Anne Griffin

(1982-11-30) November 30, 1982
Biddeford, Maine, U.S.
Education
Occupations
  • YouTuber
  • social media personality
  • educator
Spouse
Aron Accurso
​
(m. 2016)​
Children2[1]
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2019–present
Genres
Subscribers15.9 million[2]
Views11.6 billion[2]
Contents are inAmerican English
Silver Play Button100,000 subscribers2021
Gold Play Button1,000,000 subscribers2022
Diamond Play Button10,000,000 subscribers2024
Last updated: July 21, 2025

Rachel Anne Accurso[3] (née Griffin; born November 30, 1982), better known as Ms. Rachel, is an American YouTuber, social media personality, singer, 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 infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.

Early and personal life

Accurso was born in Biddeford, Maine, and raised in Sanford, Maine. She was raised, along with her sister, by a single mother.[4] As a teenager and young adult, she worked a variety of jobs, including working for a summer program for disabled children, teaching music to refugee children through the Boys & Girls Club in Maine, and working as a music teacher at a public preschool in New York City before starting her YouTube channel.[4][5]

She attended Sanford High School, where she participated in theatre, and the University of Southern Maine.[6] She earned a master's degree in music education from New York University in 2016[7] and a second master's degree in early childhood education from the American College of Education.[4][8]

She met her husband, Broadway music director and composer Aron Accurso, at a Unitarian Church in New York in 2010, and married him in July 2016.[9][4] Their first child was born in 2018.[4] On April 8, 2025, Accurso announced that she and her husband had a second child via surrogacy.[1][10]

Career

Accurso started her YouTube channel in 2019 under the name Ms. Rachel. She and her husband created the channel in response to the lack of media resources for their son who had a speech delay and did not say his first word until he was two years old.[11][5] 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 infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.[12] It was originally started as an in-person class led by 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.[11][5][13] The channel became especially popular starting in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and has over fifteen million subscribers as of 2025.[14]

Songs for Littles features Accurso as the star, with her signature outfit of a pink shirt with overalls and a headband,[15] 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,[15] 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.[5][13][8] Accurso also became popular on TikTok as Ms. Rachel, where she had over two and a half million followers by March 2023.[5][16]

Accurso's shows are based in research in childhood development. Michael Long, an American religious studies professor, and biographer of Fred Rogers, has drawn comparison of Accurso's work to Rogers show, Mister Rogers Neighborhood.[4]

Accurso took a break from TikTok in February 2023, citing her mental health.[11] The break was assumed by fans to be in response to backlash from some parents on the platform against Accurso's nonbinary co-star Jules Hoffman for using they/them pronouns.[16] That same month, Accurso returned to TikTok while she and Songs for Littles were signed to Creative Artists Agency.[15][8] In June 2024, Accurso received backlash and a boycott campaign from conservatives after she posted a video on TikTok wishing viewers a happy Pride Month.[17]

A Ms. Rachel toy line was announced in August 2024, which included a Ms. Rachel doll.[18][19] The popularity of the doll led to knockoffs being sold prompting Accurso to post a guide on how to identify the real doll.[20] Netflix premiered four compilation episodes of Ms. Rachel on January 27, 2025.[21]

Fundraising and activism

Accurso announced a fundraising campaign in a video published in May 2024 to her TikTok and Instagram accounts. She offered to make videos on Cameo, a website that allows users to pay for a personalized video with a message of their choice, with all revenue from the videos going to Save the Children's emergency fund, mentioning the Gaza Strip, Sudan, Ukraine, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[22] In a couple of hours, she had raised over $50,000 from 500 Cameo requests, which she later paused to record the requested videos. She would lose her voice from recording all of the videos, saying that "I wanted to make each video really long and special," and that she couldn't bear the thought of a child being disappointed.[4][22] Accurso stated that she was bullied online in relation to her fundraising for the children of Gaza, stating that she cares "deeply for all children".[23] She soon disabled comments on her YouTube and Instagram accounts.[22]

Accurso has often posted on Instagram about the conditions suffered by children in Gaza due to the war in Gaza, as well as Israel's bombing and blockade of the Gaza Strip. She has called for an end to the bombing and blockade, and for the delivery of humanitarian aid to the civilians and children in Gaza who have been forcibly displaced.[24] In a May 2025 interview with Mehdi Hasan, Accurso reaffirmed her support for the children of Gaza, saying that "It’s sad that people try to make it controversial when you speak out for children that are facing immeasurable suffering."[25][26]

Accurso has also posted on Instagram expressing grief about Israeli families whose children and loved ones were taken hostage by Hamas.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b Sacks, Hannah (April 8, 2025). "Ms. Rachel and Husband Aron Quietly Welcomed Baby No. 2, a Girl: 'We Are So in Love'". People. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "About Ms Rachel - Toddler Learning Videos". YouTube.
  3. ^ Accurso, Rachel (August 15, 2024). Ms Rachel & Elmo Get Ready For School - ABC Song, Numbers, Colors - Toddler & Preschool Learning. Event occurs at 24:31. My middle name is Anne. My full name is Rachel Anne Accurso.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Gibson, Caitlin (July 31, 2025). "Ms. Rachel grew up on Mister Rogers. Now she's carrying on his legacy". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 31, 2025. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d e Hanson, Kait (December 7, 2022). "Who is Ms. Rachel and why are your kids obsessed with her?". Today. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  6. ^ Goldberg, Lee (April 10, 2023). "Former Maine teacher 'Ms Rachel' posts educational videos for the masses". News Center Maine. Archived from the original on April 27, 2023. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  7. ^ "2024 Dorothy Height Distinguished Alumni Award Honoree: Rachel Griffin-Accurso (MA '16) | NYU Steinhardt". steinhardt.nyu.edu. May 14, 2024. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c Hailu, Selome (March 7, 2023). "Ms. Rachel and 'Songs for Littles' Sign With CAA". Variety. Archived from the original on March 10, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  9. ^ "Who Is Ms. Rachel's Husband? All About Aron Accurso". People.com. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
  10. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com.
  11. ^ a b c Hogan, Kate (March 3, 2023). "Internet Sensation Ms. Rachel on Her Break from TikTok: 'Self-Care Is Important'". People. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  12. ^ Thompson Payton, L'Oreal (October 19, 2022). "Screen time may not be as bad for children as previously thought". Fortune. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  13. ^ a b Borresen, Kelsey (December 8, 2022). "12 Kids' TV Shows That Experts Let Their Own Children Watch". HuffPost. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  14. ^ Jones, CT (March 10, 2023). "A Kids YouTuber Uses They/Them Pronouns. Some Parents Just Found Out -- And Lost Their Minds". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 27, 2023. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  15. ^ a b c Hanson, Kait (March 7, 2023). "Ms. Rachel returns to social media with honest message about 'boundaries'". Today. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  16. ^ 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. Archived from the original on March 10, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  17. ^ Delgado, Sam (June 6, 2024). "The backlash against children's YouTuber Ms Rachel, explained". Vox. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  18. ^ Encinas, Amaris. "Popular family YouTuber Ms. Rachel is coming out with a toy line very soon". USA Today. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  19. ^ Corsillo, Liza (September 20, 2024). "New Toys Alert: The Ms. Rachel Doll Has Arrived". NY Mag. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  20. ^ Muhammad, Latifa. "Ms. Rachel Issues Warning Over Knockoff Singing Dolls: Here's Where to Buy the Real Deal". Billboard. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  21. ^ "Ms. Rachel Becomes The #1 Show For Toddlers and Babies on Netflix - 9meters". 9meters.com. February 4, 2025.
  22. ^ a b c Karimi, Faith (May 22, 2024). "This popular YouTuber launched a campaign to help kids in Gaza and other conflict zones. Then came the angry comments". CNN. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  23. ^ Tolentino, Daysia (May 17, 2024). "Viral kids creator Ms. Rachel says she experienced bullying after fundraising for children in Gaza". NBC News. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  24. ^ Bero, Tayo (June 1, 2025). "Why is a pro-Israel group asking the US to investigate Ms Rachel?". The Guardian. Retrieved June 3, 2025.
  25. ^ Yang, Angela (May 12, 2025). "Ms. Rachel doubles down support for children in Gaza". NBC News. Archived from the original on May 13, 2025. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  26. ^ Hasan, Mehdi (May 12, 2025). "EXCLUSIVE: The One and Only Ms. Rachel Opens Up to Mehdi on Her Advocacy for Gaza's Kids". Zeteo. Archived from the original on May 12, 2025. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
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