Raven-Symoné

This article is about the actress-singer. For her self-titled album, see Raven-Symoné (album).

Raven-Symoné
Raven-Symoné in 2019
Born	Raven-Symoné Christina Pearman (1985-12-10) December 10, 1985 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Other names	Raven
Alma mater	Academy of Art University (AA)
Occupations	Actress singer songwriter director producer television personality
Years active	1989–present
Spouse	Miranda Maday ​ (m. 2020)​
Musical career
Origin	Ossining, New York, U.S.
Genres	R&B hip hop
Instrument	Vocals
Labels	MCA Walt Disney Crash RayBlaze Hollywood
Formerly of	The Cheetah Girls

Raven-Symoné Christina Pearman-Maday (née Pearman; born December 10, 1985), also known as Raven, is an American actress, singer, and director. She has received several accolades, including five NAACP Image Awards, two Kids' Choice Awards, three Young Artist Awards, and five Emmy Award nominations. In 2012, she was included on VH1's list of "100 Greatest Child Stars of All Time".

Raven-Symoné began her career as a child actress, appearing as Olivia Kendall on The Cosby Show (1989–1992) and Nicole Lee on Hangin' with Mr. Cooper (1993–1997), both of which earned her a number of awards and nominations. When she was 15 years old, she landed the role of Raven Baxter on the Disney Channel television series That's So Raven (2003–2007), for which she earned numerous awards; she reprised the character on the spin-off series Raven's Home (2017–2023), which she also executive produced. Her film credits include Dr. Dolittle (1998), its sequel Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001), The Princess Diaries 2 (2004), College Road Trip (2008), and Mighty Oak (2020). Her television film credits include Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century (1999), its second sequel Zenon: Z3 (2004), The Cheetah Girls (2003), its sequel The Cheetah Girls 2 (2006), For One Night (2006), and Revenge of the Bridesmaids (2010). She also voiced Monique in the animated series Kim Possible (2002–2007), and Iridessa in the fantasy film Tinker Bell (2008). Raven-Symoné has also directed episodes for several series, including Raven's Home, Bunk'd, Sydney to the Max, Pretty Freekin Scary, and The Ms. Pat Show.

Raven-Symoné released her debut studio album at the age of seven, Here's to New Dreams (1993), which saw the moderate commercial success of the single "That's What Little Girls Are Made Of". Her subsequent studio albums, Undeniable (1999), This Is My Time (2004), and Raven-Symoné (2008) saw some commercial success on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States. She also contributed vocals to several soundtracks from her Disney projects, including The Cheetah Girls (2003), That's So Raven (2004), That's So Raven Too! (2006), and The Cheetah Girls 2 (2006), several of which were certified platinum and gold. She was a co-host of the ABC daytime talk show The View from 2015 to 2016. She hosted and executive produced the pilot of the 2021 reality show What Not to Design.

Early life

Raven-Symoné was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to Lydia (née Gaulden) and Christopher Pearman. She had a younger brother, Blaize, who died in November 2023. As an infant, she worked for Atlanta's Young Faces Inc. modelling agency and was featured in local print advertisements. At the age of two, she worked with Ford Models in New York City and appeared in ads for Ritz crackers, Jell-O, Fisher-Price, and Cool Whip. At age three, she moved with her family to Ossining, New York, where she attended Park School.

Career

1989–2002: Child acting and early music releases

In 1989, Raven-Symoné auditioned for a role in the Bill Cosby movie, Ghost Dad. At the age of three, she was considered too young for the role, but Cosby liked her so much that he found a role 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 version of Halle Berry's starring character, a headstrong biracial enslaved woman, in the TV movie Alex Haley's Queen.

In 1992, Raven-Symoné began her singing career at the age of seven, 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 copies in the US.

In 1993, one year after The Cosby Show ended, Raven-Symoné landed the role of Nicole Lee, Mark's preteen cousin on the sitcom Hangin' with Mr. Cooper. She made her debut in the first episode of the show's second season and remained until the series finale in 1997. In 1994, during her time on the show Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, she had her first film role in The Little Rascals, playing Stymie's girlfriend.

In 1996, Raven-Symoné and her father founded RayBlaze Records, in which she signed a distribution deal with Crash Records for her second album Undeniable, which was released in May 1999. The album sold over 2,000 in US. The album yielded one single: a cover of Stevie Wonder's "With a Child's Heart". To support the album Undeniable, she went on tour as the opening act for fellow Jive artist 'N Sync's "The 'N Sync Tour" in 1998/1999.

In 1998, she was cast in the Eddie Murphy comedy Dr. Dolittle, as Charisse Dolittle, the oldest daughter of Murphy's character. In 1999, she appeared in Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century as Nebula, her first production under Disney. In 2001, she reprised the role of Charisse Dolittle in Dr. Dolittle 2. In the same year, she participated in two episodes of the comedy series, My Wife and Kids as Charmaine, Claire's pregnant friend under ABC.

2003–2007: That's So Raven, The Cheetah Girls, and This Is My Time

In 2001, Raven-Symoné auditioned for a role on an upcoming series for the Disney Channel titled Absolutely Psychic, about a teenager with psychic abilities. She auditioned for the recurring role of Chelsea Daniels, but her role was changed to the lead character Raven Baxter and the series name changed to That's So Raven. The series debuted on January 17, 2003 and ended on November 10, 2007, becoming the channel's highest-rated and longest-running series at 100 episodes (until it was surpassed by Wizards of Waverly Place in October 2011). It spawned a franchise including soundtracks, dolls, episode DVDs, and video games. That's So Raven was nominated for Outstanding Children's Program during the 2005 and 2007 Emmy Awards. Merchandise for the show earned over $400 million. The show also launched the channel's first live action spin-off series, Cory in the House.

Symoné performing at the Disson Skating & Gymnastics Spectacular in 2008

In 2002, Raven-Symoné was given the recurring voice role of Monique on Kim Possible. She also participated in the two films for the series, Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time (2003) and Kim Possible: So the Drama (2005). In 2003, she starred as lead singer Galleria Garibaldi in The Cheetah Girls, a Disney Channel Original Movie. The film was directed by Oz Scott and produced by Whitney Houston. It attracted more than 6.5 million viewers opening night, making it (at the time) Disney Channel's most-watched movie and highest-rated Disney Channel broadcast of 2003. The film soundtrack, The Cheetah Girls, debuted at No. 33 on the Billboard Top 200 and was certified Double Platinum by the RIAA for sales of 2 million copies.

In 2003, she recorded the Stevie Wonder song "Superstition" as the main theme for the film The Haunted Mansion. She signed a deal with Hollywood Records, a Disney-owned label. In 2004, during her time on the show That's So Raven, she provided the voice of Danielle in the movie Fat Albert. She made an appearance in The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement as Princess Asana, during which she sang a duet with Julie Andrews. In the Disney Channel Original Movie, Zenon: Z3, Raven-Symoné reprised her role as Nebula Wade. The same year, after the unexpected success of the film and its soundtrack, a TV show based on The Cheetah Girls was pitched to the ABC network, but it was never picked up as a series due to Raven-Symoné having prior commitments with That's So Raven.

On September 21, 2004, she released her third studio album, This Is My Time, which included the single "Backflip". This Is My Time debuted at number 50 on the U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and at number fifty-one on the official Billboard 200. It had first week sales of 19,000 copies and was Raven-Symoné's first album to enter the charts in the United States. It has sold 235,000 copies up to February 2, 2007, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Four songs from the album were incorporated into soundtracks from Disney films: The Lion King 1½ ("Grazing in the Grass"); The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement ("This Is My Time"); Ice Princess ("Bump"); and Go Figure ("Life Is Beautiful"). In the same year, she also recorded music for That's So Raven's first original television soundtrack. The soundtrack debuted and peaked at No. 44 on the Billboard 200 and is now certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of 500,000 copies.

Symoné performing on the Raven-Symoné Live Tour in 2008

On October 31, 2006, Raven-Symoné's 1999 album Undeniable was reissued as From Then Until. The album sold over 8,000 in the US. In support of her third studio album and the That's So Raven Too! soundtrack, which was the second soundtrack album from the series, Raven-Symoné embarked on her first headlining tour. The "This Is My Time Tour" kicked off on May 19, 2006, in Richmond, VA and concluded on October 21, 2006, in Columbia, SC.

In 2006, she starred in the drama For One Night. In the same year, she continued her previous role as Galleria in The Cheetah Girls 2. She served as executive producer of the film. The film brought in more than 8 million viewers opening night, making it (at the time) Disney Channel's most-watched movie and highest-rated Disney Channel program of the year 2006. She starred in the Disney Channel Crossover Episode That's So Suite Life of Hannah Montana alongside Miley Cyrus, Dylan Sprouse and Cole Sprouse. Later that year, she provided her voice for Marti Brewster in Everyone's Hero, which was released theatrically on September 15, 2006.

Symoné recorded music for That's So Raven Too!'s second original television soundtrack. The soundtrack debuted and peaked at No. 44 on the Billboard 200, selling about 200,000 copies up to April 2007, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The Cheetah Girls 2 soundtrack debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard Top 200 and is certified for Platinum sales by the RIAA for sales of 1.3 million copies.

2008–2011: Raven-Symoné and State of Georgia

Symoné at The Heart Truth’s Red Dress Collection Fashion Show in 2010

In 2008, The Cheetah Girls: One World began production. Raven-Symoné did not return for the final film in The Cheetah Girls series; While it was said that catfights and territorial issues were the reason (along with her filming College Road Trip at the time), Symoné revealed that she did not appear in the film due to feeling "excluded" and "ostracized" on the set of the second film. Her fourth studio album, Raven-Symoné, was released on April 29, 2008. The only single released from this album was "Double Dutch Bus", a cover of Frankie Smith's 1981 funk track, which was also used to promote her film College Road Trip. The single was released to radio on February 9, while the video was released on February 18, 2008. The album debuted at No. 159 on Billboard's Top 200. The album was Raven-Symoné's final album release under Hollywood Records as she did not renew her contract with the label. To promote the album, she announced her intentions to headline her first all-arena tour, "The Pajama Party Tour," in Spring 2008, however, the tour was postponed to the summer under a new name.

In 2008, she starred as Melanie Porter in the comedy College Road Trip alongside Martin Lawrence. Her character, a 17 year old girl, is eager to go to college and plans an all girls road trip with her friends until her overbearing police chief father, James Porter (Martin Lawrence) insists on taking her turning her dream trip into a nightmare with crazy adventures along the way. In its opening weekend, the film grossed approximately $14 million in 2,706 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking as the No. 2 film at box office. It went on to gross more than $60 million worldwide. From 2008 to 2015, she provided the voice of the character Iridessa, the light-fairy, as a part of the Disney Fairies franchise and direct-to-DVD Tinker Bell film series. She appeared in Chris Rock's 2009 documentary Good Hair. In late 2008, Raven-Symoné announced that she would return to the studio to record her next album.

In 2010, Raven-Symoné starred alongside Joanna Garcia in an ABC Family film titled Revenge of the Bridesmaids. Raven plays Abigail Scanlan while Garcia portrayed Parker, two childhood best friends who thwart to sabotage their ex friend’s wedding so that true love can prevail. She also made a guest appearance on the Disney Channel Original Series Sonny with a Chance alongside Demi Lovato. She portrayed the character Amber Algoode, the president of Chad Dylan Cooper's fan club. She was a guest performer for the December 9th performance of Debbie Allen's dance-theater piece, The Hot Chocolate Nutcracker, at UCLA's Royce Hall. They would later televise the play in 2014 on BET and she would continue to perform in the play until 2019.

In 2011, Raven-Symoné starred as the main character of ABC Family's comedy State of Georgia. The series premiered in June 2011, marking this her first series in four years. The 12-episode season concluded on August 17, 2011 and ABC Family cancelled the show on September 16, 2011. Throughout 2011, Raven-Symoné had been working on her fifth studio album, but in March 2012, she confirmed that the album was canceled, saying that she "couldn't quite get it together" and that the music she had been working on "wasn't going to be something sellable."

2012–present: Broadway and television focus

On January 31, 2012, it was confirmed that she would appear in the Broadway musical Sister Act as Deloris van Cartier, marking her Broadway debut in a lead role. Her run started on March 27, 2012. Her contracted final performance coincided with the closure of the show on Broadway on August 26, 2012. In 2013, she filmed a cameo in See Dad Run alongside former Hangin' With Mr. Cooper co-star Mark Curry. In early 2014, she began filming Loose, an independent film co-starring Meagan Good, in Mississippi.

In February 2015, she made a guest appearance on the Fox series Empire. In May 2015, she began a recurring role as Rhonda Johnson on the ABC comedy series Black-ish; she would continue to appear in the role in the series until April 2020. In June 2015, she starred in the independent film A Girl Like Grace. Also in June 2015, Raven-Symoné joined the ABC daytime talk show The View on a permanent basis after she guest hosted the show multiple times earlier in the year. She was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award during her run on the show from 2016 to 2017. In September 2015, she guest starred in an two part episode of the Disney Channel Original Series K.C. Undercover, portraying the character Simone Devereaux, who is the inventor of the family robot, Judy. This marked her first appearance on the channel since her guest appearance on Sonny With a Chance in 2010.

On October 27, 2016, she announced she would leave The View before the end of 2016 to focus on executive producing and starring in a That's So Raven spin-off, Raven's Home. The series premiered on July 21, 2017. For her performance, she earned a nomination for a Daytime Emmy Award. The series ran for six seasons, ending in September 2023.

In May 2016, she released two new tracks via online streaming, "Sarafina" and "Cruise Control". It was the first time in eight years she released new music since her self-titled project in 2008. On November 6, 2019, Raven competed in season two of The Masked Singer as "Black Widow". In December 2019, Raven-Symoné released the EP 33000 and in March 2020, released the single "Spacetruck" from the extended play InfraSounds under her mononym, Raven, in April 2020. In July 2020, she released the song "Serah". In May 2024, she signed an overall deal with Disney Branded Television and will produce the spinoff of Raven's Home titled Alice in the Palace, set to premiere in 2025. In October 2024, she became a host of the game show Scrabble on The CW.

Personal life

In August 2013, Raven-Symoné commented on the legalization of same-sex marriage, stating that she was "excited to hear today that more states legalized gay marriage" and that it was "great to know [she] can now, should [she] wish to." In an October 2014 interview with Oprah Winfrey, she explained her rejection of labeling herself and of identifying as either African-American or gay, specifying that she was an "American" and a "human who loves humans." She was named Grand Marshal of the 2016 Montreal Pride Parade.

Raven-Symoné was in a relationship with model and actress AzMarie Livingston from 2012 to 2015. In June 2020, she married longtime girlfriend and social media manager Miranda Maday.

In 2013, she briefly retired from acting and enrolled at Academy of Art University to pursue an associate degree in fine arts, which she completed in 2016. She came out of retirement in 2015 to be a co-host of The View. In the 2016 presidential election, she endorsed Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1990	Rockin' Through the Decades	Herself	Documentary
1994	The Little Rascals	Stymie's Girlfriend	Non-speaking role
1998	Dr. Dolittle	Charisse Dolittle
2001	Dr. Dolittle 2
2004	The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement	Princess Asana
	Fat Albert	Danielle	Voice
2006	Everyone's Hero	Marti Brewster
2008	College Road Trip	Melanie "Mel" Porter	Also executive producer
	Tinker Bell	Iridessa	Voice
2009	Good Hair	Herself	Documentary
	Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure	Iridessa	Voice
2010	Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue
2012	Secret of the Wings
2014	The Pirate Fairy
2015	Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast
	A Girl Like Grace	Mary
2017	Animal Crackers	Binkley	Voice
2020	Mighty Oak	Taylor Lazlo
2024	Child Star	Herself	Documentary

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989–92	The Cosby Show	Olivia Kendall	Main role (seasons 6–8)
1989	A Different World		Episode: "Forever Hold Your Peace"
1990	The Earth Day Special		Television special
	The Muppets at Walt Disney World	Little Girl	Television film
1990–91	Sesame Street		2 episodes
1992	The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air	Claudia	Episode: "Vying for Attention"
1993	Alex Haley's Queen	Young Queen	Television miniseries
	Blindsided	Singer	Television film
1993–97	Hangin' with Mr. Cooper	Nicole Lee	Main role (seasons 2–5)
1994	Kidsongs	Herself	Episode: "Katie's Little Lie"
1995–00	Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child	Goldilocks	Voice; episode: "Goldilocks and the Three Bears"
		Zoe / Olivia	Voice; episode: "The Princess and the Pauper"
1995	Bill Nye the Science Guy	Herself	Episode: "Human Transportation"
1997	Space Ghost Coast to Coast		Episode: "Piledriver"
1999	Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century	Nebula Wade	Television film
2001	My Wife and Kids	Charmaine	Episode: "Mom's Away: Part 1 & 2"
	The Proud Family	Angel Stephanie	Voice; episode: "Seven Days of Kwanzaa"
2002	The Cosby Show: A Look Back	Herself	Television special
2002–07	Kim Possible	Monique	Main voice role
2003–07	That's So Raven	Raven Baxter	Lead role; also producer (season 4)
2003	The Cheetah Girls	Galleria "Bubbles" Garibaldi	Television film
	Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time	Monique	Voice; television film
	Star Search	Herself	Episode: "The One with Star of That’s So Raven, Raven-Symoné"
2004	Zenon: Z3	Nebula Wade	Television film
	Fillmore!	Alexandria Quarry, Maryanne Green	Voice, 2 episodes
2005	Higglytown Heroes	Playground Monitor	Voice; episode: "Meet Eubie's Cousin"
	Kim Possible Movie: So the Drama	Monique	Voice; television film
	Dear Santa	Herself	Television film
2006	For One Night	Brianna McCallister
	The Cheetah Girls 2	Galleria "Bubbles" Garibaldi	Television film; also co-executive producer
	The Suite Life of Zack & Cody	Raven Baxter	Episode: "That's So Suite Life of Hannah Montana"
2007	Cory in the House		Episode: "That's So in the House"
	Phenomenon	Herself	Episode: "Two"
2008	American Dad!	Katie / Wife	Voice, 2 episodes
2008, 2020	Celebrity Family Feud	Herself	2 episodes
2010	Sonny with a Chance	Amber Algoode	Episode: "That's So Sonny"
	Revenge of the Bridesmaids	Abigail "Abby" Scanlan	Television film
	Extreme Makeover: Home Edition	Herself	Episode: "Boys Hope/Girls Hope"
	The Mo'Nique Show		Episode: "Episode 116"
2011	Pixie Hollow Games	Iridessa	Voice; television film
	RuPaul's Drag U	Herself	Episode: "Looking for a New Job"
	State of Georgia	Georgia Chamberlain	Lead role
	Rocco's Dinner Party	Herself	Episode: "Bangers 'N Cash"
	PrankStars		Episode: "Adventures in Dogsitting"
2012–16	The View		Co-host
2013	See Dad Run	Whitney Gibbons	Episode: "See Dad Run a Fever"
	Pixie Hollow Bake Off	Iridessa	Voice; television film
2014	Zoe Saldana Presents My Hero	Herself	Episode: "Raven-Symoné"
	Oprah: Where Are They Now?		Episode: "Raven-Symoné Opens up About Her Sexuality, Jackie Evancho, Maurice Benard"
	Just Keke		Episode: "How I Lost 260 Pounds"
2015	Empire	Olivia Lyon	2 episodes
	K.C. Undercover	Simone Devereaux	Episode: "Runaway Robot"
	The Real	Herself	Episode: "Raven-Symoné / Amy & Jeff Hammond"
2015–20	Black-ish	Rhonda Johnson	Recurring role, 7 episodes
2016	RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars	Herself	Episode: "All Star Talent Show Extravaganza"
	Nashville		Episode: "It's Sure Gonna Hurt"
	The Jim Gaffigan Show		Episode: "The Trial"
	It Got Better		Episode: "...Featuring Raven-Symoné"
	Hollywood Game Night		Episode: "Oh Yes, It’s Ladies Night"
2017	Master of None		Episode: "Buona Notte"
2017, 2018	Animals.	Nurse	2 episodes
2017, 2020	Celebrity Page	Herself	Guest, 2 episodes
2017–2023	Raven's Home	Raven Baxter	Lead role; also executive producer, directed 16 episodes
2018	Drunk History	Nichelle Nichols	Episode: "Game Changers"
2018–present	Big City Greens	Maria Media	Voice, 7 episodes
2019	Drop the Mic	Herself	Episode: "Ron Funches vs. Raven-Symoné / Joey Fatone vs. Joey McIntyre"
	Guardians of the Galaxy	Valkyrie	Voice, 2 episodes
	Just Roll with It	Betsy Hagg	Episode: "You Decide LIVE!"
	The Masked Singer	Herself (as Black Widow)	Contestant (season 2)
	Holidays Unwrapped: A Disney Channel Music Event	Herself	Host; television special
	Disney Hall of Villains		Television special
	Funny You Should Ask		9 episodes
2019–21	25 Words or Less	Herself	Guest; 32 episodes
2020	The Bold Type	Alice Knight	Recurring role (season 4)
	Visible: Out on Television	Herself	Documentary miniseries
	The Disney Family Singalong		Television special
	Celebrity Watch Party		Main participant
	To Tell the Truth		Episode: "Mario Cantone, Raven-Symoné, Rita Moreno, Deon Cole"
	Bunk'd	Raven Baxter	Episode: "Raven About Bunk’d: Part 2"; directed "I Won't Let You Clown"
	Ever After with Jaleel White	Herself	Episode: "Raven-Symoné"
	Holiday Wars		Host
	Earth to Ned		Episode: "The Ned-aissance"
	Disney Holiday Magic Quest		Host; television special
2020–2021	Celebrity Game Face		2 episodes
2020–2021	Sydney to the Max	N/A	Directed 3 episodes
2021	What Not To Design	Herself	Host; also creator and executive producer
2022	Celebrity Wheel of Fortune		Episode: #210
2022	A Black Lady Sketch Show	Ali	Episode: "Peaches and Eggplants For Errbody"
2024	Big City Greens the Movie: Spacecation	Maria Media	Voice; television film
2024	Scrabble	Herself	Host
2024	Wizards Beyond Waverly Place	N/A	Directed "Ain't Gnome Party Like a Wizard Party"

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Venue	Ref.
2012	Sister Act	Deloris Van Cartier	Broadway Theatre, Broadway

Discography

Main article: Raven-Symoné discography

See also: List of songs recorded by Raven-Symoné

• Here's to New Dreams (1993)
• Undeniable (1999)
• This Is My Time (2004)
• Raven-Symoné (2008)

Tours

• This Is My Time Tour (2006)
• Live in Concert Tour (2008–2009)

Opening act

• NSYNC in Concert (NSYNC) (1999)

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Raven-Symoné

Symoné's accolades include five NAACP Image Awards, two Kids' Choice Awards, and three Young Artist Awards, as well as two Children's and Family Emmy Award nominations and three Daytime Emmy Award nominations.

See also

• LGBT culture in New York City

External links

• Raven-Symoné at AllMusic
• Raven-Symoné at IMDb