Russell was chosen at the suggestion of Jay North, who starred in the role of Dennis, to play his nemesis playmate.

Russell provided a singing voice in the 1961 Disney movie Babes in Toyland and made an uncredited appearance in the 1963 popular suspense horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, The Birds, in which she played a school child.

In 1993, she made a cameo appearance in the film version of Dennis the Menace playing one of the Mitchells' neighbors.

She also counsels and coaches patients, assisting them with "intuitive eating" skills to embrace a healthy lifestyle.

Russell had developed a powerful posture building series of movement and strengthening exercises, which draw from her career in show business.