Raven-Symoné
- Actress
- Producer
- Music Department
Raven-Symoné Christina Pearman was born on December 10, 1985 in Atlanta, Georgia and raised in Ossining, New York to Lydia Louise Pearman (née Gaulden) & Christopher Blaize Pearman. While they lived there, Raven signed with the Ford Modeling Agency, who sent her out on an audition for a movie called
Ghost Dad (1990), which also starred
the legendary Bill Cosby. She was deemed too
young for the role since was only 3 years old, but Cosby could see she
had talent. They asked Raven to come back to read lines, and she did so
well that she got a starring role as Olivia on the last three seasons
of The Cosby Show (1984).
After the show finished its run, she decided to try something new: singing.
In 1993, she became the youngest person ever to sign with MCA Records.
She also went back to acting with a starring role in
Hangin' with Mr. Cooper (1992)
alongside Mark Curry, and a small role
in the TV mini-series Queen (1993).
After another small role in the feature film
The Little Rascals (1994) and
the role of Goldilocks in the TV series
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child (1995),
"Hangin' with Mr. Cooper" ended.
Raven's singing career was doing well and she landed a role in Doctor Dolittle (1998) alongside Eddie Murphy and a made-for-TV movie, Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century (1999). She also starred in Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001), but she was not available to do Zenon: The Zequel (2001). However, the Walt Disney Company, which made the Zenon movies, wanted her back to do a pilot for a new Disney TV show called "Absolutely Psychic," in which she would be a supporting character. She impressed them so much that they they made the show about her and changed the name to That's So Raven (2003). After the show was a hit, she did the made-for-TV movie The Cheetah Girls (2003) and recorded a new album. A movie based on "That's So Raven" may be in the works.
Raven's singing career was doing well and she landed a role in Doctor Dolittle (1998) alongside Eddie Murphy and a made-for-TV movie, Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century (1999). She also starred in Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001), but she was not available to do Zenon: The Zequel (2001). However, the Walt Disney Company, which made the Zenon movies, wanted her back to do a pilot for a new Disney TV show called "Absolutely Psychic," in which she would be a supporting character. She impressed them so much that they they made the show about her and changed the name to That's So Raven (2003). After the show was a hit, she did the made-for-TV movie The Cheetah Girls (2003) and recorded a new album. A movie based on "That's So Raven" may be in the works.
