Rosalind Russell - Early Years

Early Years

Rosalind Russell was one of seven siblings born in Waterbury, Connecticut, to James Edward and Clara A. (née McKnight) Russell, an Irish-American Catholic family. She was named after a ship on which her parents had traveled, not after the character from Shakespeare's As You Like It. She attended Catholic schools, including Marymount College in Tarrytown, New York, before attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. Her parents thought Russell was studying to become a teacher, and were unaware that she was planning on becoming a stage comedienne.