Rachel Renée Russell is an American cartoonist, attorney, and author of the children's book series Dork Diaries and its spin-off The Misadventures of Max Crumbly.

Russell grew up in Saint Joseph, Michigan, and has four younger siblings, two sisters and twin brothers. She attended Northwestern University and then law school. As of 2013, she resides in Chantilly, Virginia.

Dork Diaries, written in a diary format, utilizes doodles, drawings, and comic strips to chronicle the daily life of the main character, Nikki Maxwell, as she struggles to fit in and survive middle school. The series is based on Russell's middle school experiences. Her daughter, Nikki, is the illustrator of the series, and the main character is named after her daughter.

The Misadventures of Max Crumbly features a character, Maxwell Crumbly, who maintains a diary about his challenges in middle school. He is introduced in Dork Diaries: Tales From A Not-So Perfect Pet Sitter.

As of December 2023, more than 55 million copies of Dork Diaries have been sold worldwide in 52 languages, and the book series has spent 331 weeks on the New York Times Best Sellers list in the Children's Series category.