Was Rapunzell a book character before movie character?

Yes, Rapunzel is a character from a German fairy tale called "Rapunzel" which was first recorded by the Brothers Grimm in their collection of fairy tales, "Grimm's Fairy Tales", in 1812.

The story was based on older German folk tales and was later adapted by many other writers and artists. The Disney movie *Tangled* (2010) is a modern retelling of the classic fairy tale.