Cohn was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, grew up near DC, and attended Barnard College in Manhattan at the age of 17.

[citation needed] Cohn is now a full-time author living in Los Angeles with her two cats, named Bunk and Mcnulty.

[4] She co-wrote the novel together with children's book author David Levithan, stating that she was a fan of his work for a while and knew she wanted to write a novel told from the point of view of a boy and a girl, with him writing the boy's point of view.

[6] It was made into a 2008 film of the same name, directed by Peter Sollett and starred Michael Cera and Kat Dennings as Nick and Norah.

Rachel had the idea for Nick & Norah while walking around Central Park, and contacted David because she needed "a guy writer.