Who is Ms Rachel, explained: From preschool music teacher to YouTube sensation in the space of six years

If you have a toddler or small child at home, chances are you are familiar with the name Ms Rachel.

For the uninitiated, Ms Rachel, whose real name is Rachel Accurso, is a US-born YouTube star who turned her son’s early childhood speech delay into a multimillion-dollar career.

But Accurso has also endured some backlash in recent times as a result of her support for the LGBQT+ community and the children of war-torn Gaza.

Watch the video above.

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The rise of Ms Rachel

Born Rachel Anne Griffin in the US state of Maine on November 30, 1982, Accurso took part in theatre while at high school before heading to university.

She later earned a Master’s degree in music education from New York University in 2016 before working as a music teacher at a preschool in New York City. She has since earned a second Master’s in early childhood development.

In 2016, she married Aron Accurso, a Broadway music director and composer.

The couple welcomed their first child, son Thomas, in 2018. It was his difficulty learning to speak that inspired Accurso to become a YouTube star.

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Accurso previously told News Centre Maine of her career shift, “My son inspired the whole thing.

“He had a speech delay and I thought it would be great if there was a show that was slow paced and interactive, and used some of the tactics that his speech therapist was using to get him talking.”

‘A classroom filled with millions of kids’

Accurso launched her YouTube channel Ms Rachel – Toddler Learning Videos in 2019.

According to her website, she worked with her husband and a team of educators, entertainers and developmental experts to create learning videos for babies and toddlers “that spark joy while fostering early development”, with a special focus on speech, language and social-emotional skills.

“Every video, story, and song is crafted with care to support your child’s growth, making learning fun, interactive and a playful way for families to connect,” her website says.

Accurso told News Centre Maine, “We thought maybe we would help a few kids”.

But the channel quickly became a huge success and within just six years, has racked up 15.3 million subscribers and billions of views.

She has also become popular on social media channels, where she has millions of followers on Instagram and TikTok as Ms Rachel for Littles.

“We were so surprised when we had so many families contacting us,’ Accurso told News Centre Maine.

“And I think it’s still a shock when I am walking down the sidewalk and someone says, ‘Hi Ms Rachel’. I think we are still surprised it turned into being a classroom filled with millions of kids.”

Ms Rachel became popular thanks to her versions of well-known songs and nursery rhymes, which she performed with hand movements and even sign language.

Following success with her versions of songs including Wheels on the Bus, Open Shut Them and Row, Row, Row Your Boat, she started producing original songs for her Songs for Littles baby/toddler music class series.

The most followed families on TikTok

Soon after, Ms Rachel adopted her signature look of pink T-shirt, denim overalls and pink headband.

She has since widened her videos to include educational videos for preschoolers. 

More recently, Accurso struck a deal with Netflix to screen some of her material as a four-episode series that launched in January, and she also launched a range of merchandise, some of which is available in Australia at Big W.

The deals have seen Accurso’s net worth grow to an estimated AU$15.3 million.

Controversies

As is often the case, as Accurso’s star continued to rise, the number of detractors also grew.

Some viewers were not happy when she began collaborating early on with non-binary performer Jules Hoffman.

There was uproar among some when Accurso took to TikTok last year to wish her followers a happy Pride Month.

Then more recently came controversy over her support of child victims of the war in Gaza.

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Many took her Instagram posts, including one which included her singing a song with a little girl called Rahaf who lost both her legs in the conflict, as siding with the Palestinian people over the Israelis.

In response to the backlash, a tearful Accurso told Zeteo News, “It’s sad that people try to make it controversial when you speak out for children that are facing immeasurable suffering.”

Family life

Accurso, now 42, continues to juggle being a superstar amongst toddlers – and their time-poor mums – with being a devoted wife and mum to two children, including a daughter she welcomed two months ago.

Accurso took to her Instagram page to announce her arrival, writing, “We welcomed sweet baby Susannah into the world! We are so in love!”

She also revealed she was “unable to carry this pregnancy for medical reasons” and instead used a surrogate “who gave us the most precious gift possible”.

Her pending arrival could have been why Accurso did not upload any new content to YouTube for the better part of this year – something that did not sit well with her fans, some of whom accused her of forgetting her roots after signing her Netflix deal.

Several months ago she took to her Instagram page to address fans who asked why she had not been uploading new content, saying it had nothing to do with Netflix but was instead because she had “family things to attend to”.

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