Montell was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland to a Jewish family; she attended Hebrew school as a child.

[1][2] Montell studied linguistics at New York University[3] and her writing has appeared in Time,[4] Nylon, Cosmopolitan,[5] Glamour, Domino,[6] and Marie Claire.

She also created a web series, The Dirty Word,[7] for Joey Soloway's now defunct platform, Wifey.

[8][9] Montell's debut book, Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language, was released in 2019 and received positive reviews from critics.

[20] Montell is also a cohost of the weekly podcast Sounds Like a Cult, which examines the cult-like aspects of various groups from across the cultural zeitgeist.