The character arc of Ms Rachel
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born 30 November 1982 in Biddeford, Maine and raised in Sanford, a music teacher by training who worked with refugee children and in a New York public preschool. Between then and now sit a master's in music education from New York University in 2016, the birth of her son in 2018, his speech delay, the channel she started in 2019 because the videos she wanted did not exist, and a Netflix series in 2025. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of her life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Ms Rachel?
She could not find the videos, so she made them herself.
She grew up in Sanford, Maine, took a degree at the University of Southern Maine, and spent her twenties teaching music: a summer programme for disabled children, music for refugee children through the Boys and Girls Club, and then a public preschool in New York City. She took a master's in music education from New York University in 2016 and later a second in early childhood education, and married the Broadway music director Aron Accurso the same year. None of this looked like the beginning of a television career.
Her son was born in 2018. Around his first birthday his speech milestones were not being met, and he did not say a first word until he was about two. She went looking for videos that would actually help a toddler learn to talk, made by someone who understood how speech develops, and could not find them. So she made them. Songs for Littles began in 2019, filmed simply, built on the techniques speech therapists use: slow, repeated, direct to camera, leaving long pauses where a child is meant to answer.
It became one of the most watched children's programmes in the world. She won a Streamy Award in 2023, was honoured by her own university in 2024, and Netflix premiered her series on 27 January 2025, where it became the most watched season of a children's show on the service. A daughter was born in April 2025. By June 2026 the channel had 20.2 million subscribers and more than sixteen billion views, and she was nominated for two Emmys that year. Her line is worth reading because it starts with a parent who could not find something and decided that was a reason to build it.
The moments
Ms Rachel's timeline.
The 2010s
A master's from NYU
Milestone, and it changed her direction. A trained music educator, which is why the videos work the way they do rather than simply being cheerful.
She married Aron Accurso
Milestone. The music on the channel is largely his. It became a family business before it was a business at all.
Her son Thomas was born
Milestone, and it changed everything. The whole of what follows begins here, though nothing at the time suggested it would.
He did not speak
Setback, and it changed everything. She went looking for videos that would help a toddler learn to talk, made by someone who understood how speech develops.
Wait for the videos, or make them
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: film them herself, taken, or keep looking. The channel she filmed for one child reached 20.2 million subscribers by 2026 and became the most watched season of a children's show on Netflix.
Songs for Littles begins
Milestone, and it changed everything. She could not find what she wanted, so she filmed it herself, using the techniques speech therapists use.
The 2020s
A Streamy Award
Milestone. The first industry recognition, for something that had been made at home.
Honoured by her university
Milestone. The institution that trained her as a music teacher recognised what she had done with the training.
The Netflix series
Milestone, and it changed everything. It became the most watched season of a children's show on the service, and one of its most watched series of the year.
Her daughter Susannah was born
Milestone. A second child, seven years after the first, and by now a very different household.
A Kids' Choice Award
Milestone. An award voted for by the audience she actually makes the work for.
Two Emmy nominations
Milestone, and it changed her direction. The television industry counting a YouTube channel made in a front room as one of its own.
Twenty million subscribers
Milestone, and it changed everything. One of the most watched children's programmes in the world, begun because one child was slow to talk.
The line reaches today still adding to itself, which is why it is drawn now rather than at the end. What it has set moving sits in millions of homes: a generation of toddlers learning to talk, and the parents who stopped worrying they were the only ones waiting.
Your turn
Every line draws a unique story.
Hers turns on a gap she found as a parent, not on a plan. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.
Ms Rachel: frequently asked questions
What people ask about her line.
What is Ms Rachel's character arc?
What were the turning points in Ms Rachel's life?
Why did Ms Rachel start her channel?
Is Ms Rachel a real teacher?
How popular is Ms Rachel?
Who makes the music on Ms Rachel?
Does Ms Rachel have children?
Where does this timeline of Ms Rachel's life come from?
More character arcs
Lives that rhyme with her.
Sources
- Ms. Rachel, English Wikipedia biography.
- Rachel Griffin-Accurso, IMDb biography.
- 2024 Dorothy Height Distinguished Alumni Award Honoree: Rachel Griffin-Accurso, NYU Steinhardt.