Raven-Symoné

Raven-Symoné

Raven-Symoné Christina Pearman (born December 10, 1985 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American actress, R&B and pop singer, songwriter, dancer, and television producer, best known for her roles as Olivia Kendall in The Cosby Show, Galleria Garibaldi in The Cheetah Girls and The Cheetah Girls 2 and as Raven Baxter in her own show, That's So Raven. She is professionally known by her stage name as Raven, though also known as Raven-Symoné. Despite the spelling of the second part of her name, she pronounces "Symoné" as though the acute accent were not there. Also, Raven owns a "how-to" video website, Raven-Symoné Presents, that being her official website.

Early life

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, Inc. in New York City and appeared in ads for Ritz crackers, Jell-O, Fisher-Price, and Cool Whip. At age three, she auditioned for the film Ghost Dad. She was considered too young for the role, but was recommended for a part in The Cosby Show and was eventually cast as Olivia in February 1989. The character was the precocious three-year-old stepdaughter of Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet), the main character's daughter. Raven played the part until the series was cancelled in 1992. In 1993, Raven joined the cast of ABC's sitcom Hangin' with Mr. Cooper as Nicole, the cousin of Mark Curry's character Mark Cooper.

Acting career

Raven went on to have roles in 1998's Dr. Dolittle and 1999's Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century. In 2003, Raven began her role as a teenager with psychic powers, in the Disney Channel Original Series That's So Raven; it became Disney Channel's highest-rated and longest-running series and spawned successful product spinoffs, including soundtracks (featuring songs by Raven), episode DVDs, and video games. In 2005, the show was nominated for an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Children's Program." In 2003, Raven was featured on The Cheetah Girls and its popular soundtrack.

In 2003, Raven was scheduled to star in two films. The first was Sparkle, which was a remake of the 1976 film. Raven got the part after R&B-Pop songstress Aaliyah was tragically killed in a plane crash in 2001. The film was scheduled to be produced by Whitney Houston and Debra Martin Chase who produced The Cheetah Girls. The second film was titled "All American Girl", based on the book written by Meg Cabot. Both films have now been cancelled.

In 2004, Raven cut a six-figure deal with Disney for another series on ABC in Fall 2005. It was originally designed to be a college spinoff of That's So Raven called Raven Too!, following Raven and her friends in college. However, Raven eventually declined the role and the sitcom instead turned into another TSR spinoff for Disney, called Cory In The House.

Recently, she has starred in a sequel to the original Cheetah Girls film, The Cheetah Girls 2, which has become Disney Channel's second most-viewed and second highest-rated film to date after Jump In!. Coincidentally, Raven was originally set to star in Jump In! as well, which was created to be a motion picture named Double Dutch, but which was later revamped into the present version known as Jump In!, minus Raven's presence.

Raven produced the fourth and final season of That's So Raven. She took on the role of Executive Producer for The Cheetah Girls 2 In the late '90s, she co-owned RayBlaize Records with her father. However, they sold the company in the early 2000s.

Raven was featured on the March 2007 issue of Ebony Magazine with the title "The $400 Million Dollar Woman" referring to the $400 million that the That's So Raven merchandise has made. The article also mentioned that Raven has wisely invested her substantial TV show earnings dating back to her time on "The Cosby Show".

On October 31 2007, she made a special guest appearance on the NBC hit show Phenomenon.

Though, she appeared on "Phenomenon", her last Disney Channel Appearance was in the episode That's So In The House.

Music career

Raven-Symoné's debut album, Here's to New Dreams, was released on June 22, 1993. It spawned two commercially released singles: "That's What Little Girls Are Made Of" and "Raven Is the Flavor". "That's What Little Girls Are Made Of" was Raven's most successful single, reaching number sixty-eight on the Billboard Hot 100, forty-seven on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, forty-three on the Hot Dance Singles Sales, and thirty-nine on the Rhythmic Top 40. Her record company, MCA Records, however, shortened her contract as a result of poor sales.

On May 4, 1999, Raven released her second album, Undeniable. "With a Child's Heart" was the only commercially released single from the album. With no promotion at all, the album was a complete failure, selling just 10,000 copies in the U.S. to date. In 2000, MCA Records, her label, dropped her from their roster. The Undeniable album was bought up by TMG Records, who re-issued the album in November 14, 2006 under the title From Then Until. In early 2003, she signed a deal with Hollywood Records, which also features fellow Disney Channel stars Aly & AJ, Hilary Duff, and Miley Cyrus.

On September 21, 2004, she released her third album This Is My Time. The album spawned three Radio Disney hits: "Backflip" (which received heavy rotation on both Disney Channel and MTV), "Bump", and "Grazing in the Grass" (which was featured on the soundtrack to The Lion King 1½). The album debuted and peaked at number fifty-one on the Billboard 200 selling 19,000 copies in its first week of release, becoming her most successful album yet. This Is My Time has sold 235,000 copies in the U.S. and 452,000 copies worldwide. She sang Stevie Wonder's Superstition for the movie The Haunted Mansion and True to Your Heart from the movie Mulan.

In 2006, Raven embarked on her first solo tour to promote the album. She was also featured in Belinda's music video for "Ni Freud ni tú mamá". She is currently working on her fourth album, and according to Billboard magazine, she has worked with R&B singer Mario's production team, Knightwritaz. Raven's fourth studio album is set to be released on April 22, 2008.

In 2008, Raven officially announced on her website that her self titled album "Raven-Symone" will be released on April 22, 2008. She also stated that she was currently shooting a video for her new single "Double Dutch Bus" which is to be featured in her new movie "College Road Trip".

Filmography

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	The Little Rascals	Stymie's girlfriend	appearances
1998	Dr. Dolittle	Charisse Dolittle	Main Role
1999	Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century	Nebula Wade	made for television (Disney Channel)
2001	Dr. Dolittle 2	Charisse Dolittle	Main Role
2003	Kim Possible: A Stitch in Time	Monique	Voice
	The Cheetah Girls	Galleria Garibaldi	made for television (Disney Channel)
2004	Zenon: Z3	Nebula Wade	made for television (Disney Channel)
	The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement	Asana	Guest Princess
2005	Kim Possible: So the Drama	Monique	Voice
2006	For One Night	Brianna McCallister	made for television (Lifetime Movie)
	The Cheetah Girls 2	Galleria Garibaldi	made for television (Disney Channel)
	Everyone's Hero	Marti Brewster	Voice
2008	College Road Trip	Rachel Porter	Main Role / Starring as "Raven-Symoné"

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989–1992	The Cosby Show	Olivia Kendall	Seasons 6–8
1993–1997	Hangin' with Mr. Cooper	Nicole Lee	Seasons 2–5
2002–2007	Kim Possible	Monique	Voice / Recurring role
2003–2007	That's So Raven	Raven Baxter	Main Role / Starring as Raven.
2004	The Cheetah Girls	Galleria Garibaldi	4 episodes were filmed,but were cancelled before airing.

Guest appearances

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	A Different World	Olivia Kendall	"Forever Hold Your Peace" (episode 5, season 3)
1990	The Muppets at Walt Disney World	Young girl	Television special
	ABC TGIF	Nicole	-
1992	The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air	Claudia	"Vying for Attention" (episode 21, season 2)
1993	Blindsided	Singer
	Queen: The Story of an American Family	5-year-old Queen
1995	Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child	Olivia/Zoe (voice)	"The Princess and the Pauper"
	Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child	Goldilocks (voice)	"Goldilocks and the Three Bears"
2001	My Wife and Kids	Charmaine	"Mom's Away (Part 1)" (episode 1, season 2) "Mom's Away (Part 2)" (episode 2, season 2)
	The Proud Family	Stephanie (voice)	"Seven Days of Kwanzaa" (episode 11, season 1)
2004	Fillmore!	Maryanne Greene (voice) Alexandria Quarry (voice)	"Code Name: Electric Haircut" (episode 9, season 2) "Field Trip of the Just (2004)" (episode 12, season 2)
2005	Higglytown Heroes	Playground Monitor Hero (voice)	"Wayne's Ripping Adventure/Meet Eubie's Cousin" (episode 14, season 1)
2006	The Suite Life of Zack and Cody	Raven Baxter	"That's So Suite Life of Hannah Montana" (episode 20, season 2)
2007	Cory in the House		Guest star in "That's So in the House" episode

Production

Year	Title	Format	Role	Notes
2004	The Cheetah Girls	TV	Executive Producer	unknown episodes (4 episodes were filmed,but were cancelled before airing).
2006	The Cheetah Girls 2	Film	Co-Executive Producer	made for television (Disney Channel). Credited as "Raven-Symoné".
2006	That's So Raven	TV	Producer	18 episodes of Season 4. Credited as "Raven-Symoné".
2008	College Road Trip	Film	Executive Producer	Credited as "Raven-Symoné".

Discography

Main article: Raven-Symoné discography

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

Concert tours

• 2006: This Is My Time Tour
• 2008: TBA

Awards and nominations

• 1990

Nominations

Young Artist Awards: "Outstanding Performance by an Actress Under Nine Years of Age 9" (The Cosby Show)

• 1991

Wins

Young Artist Awards: "Exceptional Performance by a Young Actress" (The Cosby Show)

• 1993

Nominations

Young Artist Awards: "Outstanding Actress Under Ten in a Television Series" (The Cosby Show)

• 1994

Nominations

Young Artist Awards: "Best Youth Comedienne" (Hangin' With Mr. Cooper)

• 1996

Nominations

NAACP Image Awards: "Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress" (Hangin' With Mr. Cooper)

• 1999

Nominations

Young Star Awards: "Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Mini-Series/Made for TV Film" (Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century)

• 2004

Wins

Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards: "Favorite TV Actress" (That's So Raven)

NAACP Image Awards: "Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Series/Special (That's So Raven)

Black Reel:"Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series" (The Cheetah Girls)

Nominations

BET Comedy Awards: "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series" (That's So Raven)

Teen Choice Awards: "Choice TV Actress - Comedy" (That's So Raven)

• 2005

Wins

Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards: "Favorite TV Actress" (That's So Raven)

NAACP Image Awards: "Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Series/Special" (That's So Raven)

Radio Disney Music Awards: "Best Actor/Actress-Turned-Singer"

Nominations

BET Comedy Awards: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series - (That's So Raven)

Teen Choice Awards: Choice TV Actress - Comedy - (That's So Raven)

BET Comedy Award:"Best Performance in an Animated Theatrical Film" (Kim Possible: So the Drama)

• 2006

Wins

NAACP Image Awards: "Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Series/Special" (That's So Raven)

NAACP Image Awards: "Junior Achievement Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Series/Special"(That's So Raven)

Teen Choice Awards: "Choice TV Actress - Comedy" (That's So Raven)

Nominations

Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards: "Favorite TV Actress" (That's So Raven)

• 2007

Wins

NAACP Image Awards: "Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Series/Special" (That's So Raven)

NAMIC Awards: "2007 North Star Award" (Top Award)

Nominations

NAACP Image Awards: "Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series" (That's So Raven)

Radio Disney Music Awards: "Favorite TV Star Who Sings"

Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards: "Favorite TV Actress (That's So Raven)

External links

• Official website
• Raven-Symoné on Hollywood Records website
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