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.
Child Stars, Then and Now
Child Stars, Then and Now
Kirsten Dunst and more Hollywood favorites that started their careers as kids. How many do you recognize?