[1] She learned ballet early on from her mother who taught dance training as an instructor at the British Royal Academy.

She finished among the top twenty in the floor exercise, 45th in the vault, 56th in the all-around, and 61st in the balance beam and uneven bars.

[6] Russell married John Carter, a Michigan State Spartans baseball player in December 1959.

[6] Following the 1960 Olympics, she completed her bachelor's degree in physical education and dance from Michigan State, and then taught high school for five years.

After teaching high school and coaching a cheerleading team for five years, Michigan State athletic director Clarence Munn invited Russell to become the head coach of the Michigan State women's gymnastics club team.

Over the next decade, her Clarion State Golden Eagles teams compiled a perfect dual meet win–loss record of 58–0 in ten seasons and won Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) college national championships in 1977 and 1978.

[8] Russell was named national coach of the year in 1982, when Florida won the AIAW gymnastics championship.