In 2019, 37-year-old Rachel Accurso was looking for a show for her young son Thomas, who had a speech delay. Frustrated by the lack of kids’ TV series that encouraged language development, Accurso, who has a master’s degree in music education, started a YouTube channel out of her living room with her Broadway music director husband Aron. They created song-filled videos and content designed to encourage speech milestones.
Today, “Ms. Rachel” has over 12.2 million subscribers, and Accurso recently launched a merchandise line at Target and Walmart. This mom saw a hole in children’s programming, so she filled it herself — and now she’s a household name.