- Toddler sensation Ms. Rachel says everything about her persona, from her voice to her headband, has been carefully curated. Now, the winning formula has landed her a Netflix show and a book deal.
Many toddlers can easily pick out ‘Ms. Rachel’ from a crowd of adults. Rachel Accurso, the 42-year-old YouTube sensation, has clinched a signature look: a pink headband, high ponytail, pink t-shirt, and denim overalls. And kids don’t even need to see the star to clock her—her sing-songy “Taylor Swift for toddlers” voice is instantly recognizable.
The winning aesthetic has attracted a staggering 13.3 million YouTube subscribers who have raked up billions of views, and climbing. And now her young viewers are following her to new platforms and mediums. Ms. Rachel recently signed a TV show deal with Netflix, and the first four episodes hit streaming on January 27. Earlier this month she also released several children’s books.
But don’t be fooled into thinking it was all by chance; Ms. Rachel has a method to her madness. Luckily, she’s willing to share it with the world.
The winning formula that has wooed millions of kids
During an interview with CBS Mornings, Accurso revealed that America’s favorite neighbor had a huge impact on her professional persona and career as one of the world’s biggest child entertainers and educators.
“I take my job really seriously, I have the trust of parents and caregivers,” Accurso said during the segment. “I’m very inspired by Mr. Rogers and all the care that he put into the show. And knowing that media can be beneficial for kids, we just need to take it seriously and do the best we can to make it wonderful for kids and their families.”
It’s not just his ethos that she copied—she also emulated his soft-spokenness and affinity for a uniform. Mr. Rogers gravitated towards a red sweater, white button-down, and patterned ties, meanwhile Ms. Rachel always dons an overall and pink headband.
However, the hugely popular look was a happy accident that came about out of pure necessity—or rather, greasy hair.
“As a busy new mom, I wouldn’t have time to wash my hair or blow dry it, so I would just put on the headband to cover the hair. And it became part of the costume,” she said. “Overalls are just fun.”
But perfecting her tone of voice took a lot more research than her outfit choices. As a mother and former teacher, Accurso has spent a lot of time caring for and teaching young kids. There are studies that break down the impact of even the smallest changes in childhood development with evidence-backed speech patterns that best engage and placate toddlers. She said she had to dig into the science to find the right inflection, rhythm, and tone for Ms. Rachel’s voice in teaching her kiddo audience.
“The speaking is research-based. When you speak to a child naturally, actually, everywhere around the world you do slow down,” she said. “You don’t see a baby and go, [regular voice] ‘Hi how are you?’ You go [baby voice] ‘Hi!’ It’s amazing, it does help their language development to hear that slowed-down and enthusiastic tone.”
Spreading Ms. Rachel’s influence to Netlflix and Barnes & Noble
Now, Ms. Rachel’s millions of toddler fans are getting more than just YouTube videos thanks to the winning formula. Accurso has hit many career milestones so far in 2025—most notably, rolling out her own Netflix show Ms. Rachel this week.
She signed up for a series that curates a selection of her public YouTube videos, with a batch of four episodes currently available on the streaming application in English and 33 other languages. Titled “Learn to Talk,” “Baby Learning,” “Learn to Read,” and “Hop Little Bunnies,” the 30-to-60-minute episodes compile lessons on shapes, colors, letters, numbers, and more. Another installment is projected to drop later this year.
But she’s also moving into new mediums to teach children. Accurso went onto CBS Mornings to not only share the secret strategy behind her hugely successful persona, but also to to discuss three new books that she published; “100 First Words,” with all the essential words kiddos should know; “My First Coloring Book,” for children to get in touch with their artistic side; and “Potty Time with Bean,” teaching toddlers how to use the bathroom. They dropped earlier this month and are available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books a Million, and Bookshop.org.