Raven-Symoné

Raven-Symoné Christina Pearman (born December 10, 1985), known professionally as Raven-Symoné (pronounced /ˈreɪ.vən sɪˈmoʊn/), as though unaccented), or simply Raven, is an American actress and singer. Raven-Symoné launched her career in 1989 after appearing in The Cosby Show as Olivia. She released her debut album, Here's to New Dreams in 1993; the single, "That's What Little Girls Are Made Of" charted number 68 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The next album, Undeniable, was released on May 4, 1999.

Raven-Symoné appeared in several successful television series, such as The Cosby Show and Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, in the late 1980s and early 1990s. From 2003 to 2007, she starred in the Disney Channel series, That's So Raven in which she played Raven Baxter, a psychic teenager who tried her best to keep her psychic powers a secret. During her time on That's So Raven, Raven-Symoné released her third studio album, This Is My Time (2004) which was her best selling solo album to date, charting at number 51 on the Billboard 200. After a year of the end of That's So Raven, she released her fourth studio album, the self-titled Raven-Symoné (2008). The album peaked at number 159 on the Billboard 200. During 2003 to 2006, she participated in four soundtracks from Disney RIAA-certified double-platinum album, The Cheetah Girls (2003), RIAA-certified gold album, That's So Raven (2004), That's So Raven Too! (2006) and RIAA-certified platinum album, The Cheetah Girls 2 (2006). The soundtracks sold a combined 4.1 million copies in the U.S. alone. As of April 2008, Raven-Symoné has sold 314,000 albums in the United States. She is also the voice of Uniqua, in Nickelodeon series, The Backyardigans, during the fourth and final season.

Raven-Symoné transitioned to a film career, starring in several films aimed at young audiences, including Dr. Dolittle (1998), Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001), College Road Trip (2008), and successful television films, including Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century (1999), The Cheetah Girls (2003), its sequel Cheetah Girls 2 (2006), For One Night (2006), Revenge of the Bridesmaids (2010). Raven has also lent her voice to the animated series Kim Possible, for the character Monique and films such as Disney‘s Tinker Bell. She also owns a "how-to" video website, Raven-Symoné Presents. In 2011, Symoné starred in the short-lived ABC Family comedy series State of Georgia as Georgia Chamberlain, an aspiring actress with a huge ego who moves to New York City to try her hand at an acting career.

In 2016 Raven-Symoné ranked #8 on VH1's "100 Greatest Kid Stars Of All Time" list, and ranked #1 on Loop21's "10 Richest Black Actresses Under 40" list.

1985–99: Early life and career beginnings with The Cosby Show
Raven was born in Atlanta, Georgia to Lydia (née Gaulden) and Christopher B. Pearman. At age three, her family moved to Ossining, New York where she attended Park School. As an infant, she worked for Atlanta's Young Faces Inc. Modeling Agency and was featured in local print advertisements. At age two, she worked with Ford Models in New York City and appeared in ads for Ritz crackers, Jell-O gelatin dessert, Fisher-Price, and Cool Whip.

In 1988, Raven-Symoné auditioned for a part in the Bill Cosby movie, Ghost Dad. At three years old she was considered too young for the role, but Bill Cosby liked her so much that he found a part for her on his show, The Cosby Show, as his step-granddaughter Olivia. She made her debut in the premiere episode of the show's sixth season, and remained until the series finale in 1992. She then appeared as the younger, childhood version of Halle Berry's starring character, a headstrong biracial slave, in the TV movie Queen: The Story of an American Family, based on the book by Alex Haley.

In 1992, Raven-Symoné began her singing career at the age of five, when she signed with MCA Records. She spent that year and the next taking vocal lessons from Missy Elliott. Her debut album, Here's to New Dreams, was released on June 22, 1993, which spawned two singles: "That's What Little Girls Are Made Of" and "Raven Is the Flavor". "That's What Little Girls Are Made Of" reached No. 68 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album however was not successful, and due to low sales she was dropped from MCA Records in 1995. The album sold over 73,000 in US.