She is mixed race, with a Black father and White mother. Russell has spoken of experiencing racism or colorism over her heritage and looks. She's also said she hopes that more sci fi roles will open for women of Black or mixed race descent like her, having been rejected as being "too exotic" and such for some roles before. Her family experienced poverty in her childhood, with Russell beginning to work at age 13. She is trained in ballet, and dances every day.
Selected filmography:
- Pants On Fire (2014) as Jennifer
- Strange Empire (2015) as Cassie (2 episodes)
- Falling Skies (2015) as Evelyn (5 episodes)
- Dead of Summer (2016) as Laura (1 episode)
- Lost In Space (2018-21) as Judy Robinson (main role)
- Down a Dark Hall (2018) as Ashley
- Hot Air (2018) as Tess
- Escape Room (2019) as Zoey Davis
- Waves (2019) as Emily Williams
- Words on Bathroom Walls (2020) as Maya Arnez
- Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (2021) as Zoey Davis
- Bones & All (2022) as Maren Yearly
- Mother, Couch (2023) as Bella
- Hope (2026) as Ai'dovor
Tropes in her work include:
- Actor-Shared Background: When her characters' backgrounds have been shown, frequently they're biracial with Black and White parents like her.
- Fake American: She's played mostly Americans so far.
- Nice Girl: She frequently plays sweet, caring people (which appears to match her real personality).
- Twofer Token Minority: She's often the only person of color in a film's cast (or at least the sole prominent one).