| |
| Raven-Symoné | |
|---|---|
| |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Raven |
| Genre(s) | R&B, pop |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Label(s) | MCA, Crash, Walt Disney, Hollywood |
| Associated acts |
The Cheetah Girls, Disney Channel Circle of Stars, Sean Garrett |
| Website | www.ravensymonepresents.com |
Raven-Symoné Christina Pearman (born December 10, 1985),[1] known professionally as Raven-Symoné or Raven, is an American actress, singer-songwriter, dancer, and television producer.
She is best known for her television roles as Olivia Kendall on The Cosby Show, Nicole Lee on Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, Galleria Garibaldi on The Cheetah Girls and The Cheetah Girls 2 and as Raven Baxter on her own show, That's So Raven, and the spinoff, Raven's Home. Raven-Symoné owns a "how-to" video website, Raven-Symoné Presents, which is used as her official website.[2] She has also lent her voice to the animated series Kim Possible, for the character Monique. The major hits are the "That's What Little Girls Are Made Of", "Backflip", and "Double Dutch Bus".
Early life[]
Raven-Symoné was born in Atlanta, Georgia to Lydia (née Gaulden) and Christopher B. Pearman. Raven-Symoné lived in Ossining, New York where she attended Park School.[3][4] As an infant, she worked for Atlanta's Young Faces Inc. Modelling 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, 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 on The Cosby Show and was eventually cast as Olivia in September 1989. The character was the three-year-old stepdaughter of Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet), the main character's daughter. Raven-Symoné played the part until the series ended in 1992. In Fall 1993, Raven-Symoné joined the cast of ABC's sitcom Hangin' with Mr. Cooper as Nicole, the cousin of Mark Curry's character Mark Cooper. Raven-Symoné went on to have roles in films such as 1998's Dr. Dolittle, 1999's Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century, and 2001's Dr. Dolittle 2.
Career[]
Acting[]
When she was just two, she was signed by the Ford Modeling Agency and her family moved to New York to help advance her career. In 1989, Raven auditioned for a part in the Bill Cosby movie, Ghost Dad. She was a little too young for the part, but Bill Cosby liked her so much that he found a part for her on his show, The Cosby Show, as his granddaughter Olivia. Raven played the part of Olivia until 1992. In 1992 Raven appeared on The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air as Will's mother's boyfriend's daughter. Within a year after The Cosby Show ended, Raven landed the role of Nicole Lee on the show Hangin' with Mr. Cooper. During her time on the show, she managed to land her first big screen role in the movie The Little Rascals, playing Stymie's girlfriend. She was then cast in the Eddie Murphy comedy Dr. Dolittle and Dr. Dolittle 2 as Charisse Dolittle playing Eddie Murphy's oldest daughter.
In 2002, Raven-Symoné auditioned for a role on an up-and-coming series for the Disney Channel titled Absolutely Psychic, about a teenager with psychic abilities.[5] Initially, Raven-Symoné was cast as the role of the best friend. But after being reviewed, Disney executives decided to cast her as the lead character Raven Baxter and change the series name to That's So Raven, which débuted on January 17, 2003. It is Disney Channel's highest-rated and longest-running series. It spawned Disney's most successful franchise, including soundtracks, dolls, episode DVDs, and video games. During the her time on the show, Raven provided the voice of Danielle on Fat Albert and made an appearance on The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement both in 2004. In 2005 and 2007, That's So Raven was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program. The show also was the first show in Disney history to have a spin-off, Cory in the House.
In 2003, Raven-Symoné starred as lead singer Galleria Garibaldi in The Cheetah Girls, which is a Disney Channel Original Movie that is about four city girls who have dreams of becoming superstars. The movie was Disney Channel's first musical and spawned a massive franchise, much like That's So Raven, including dolls, video games, platinum-selling soundtracks and more.[6] In 2006, Raven-Symoné reprised her role as Galleria Garibaldi and starred in The Cheetah Girls 2. The film and its soundtrack were huge commercial hits and brought in more than 8 million viewers opening night, making it (at its time) Disney Channel's most-watched movie. Its soundtrack also débuted at number eight, on the Billboard Top 200 and went on to become certified for platinum-level sales by the RIAA. Raven-Symoné also served as executive producer of the film.[7]
In 2007 Raven-Symoné guest-starred on an episode of Cory in the House. That episode brought in 5 million viewers, making it the highest rated one of the series. During the summer of 2007, Raven-Symoné filmed her first lead film role in College Road Trip, which co-starred Martin Lawrence.
In 2008, The Cheetah Girls: One World began production, but Raven-Symoné did not return to reprise her role as Galleria, due to problems with her former Cheetah Girls on the set of Cheetah Girls 2. According to an interview in June 2006, she stated that there were "territorial issues" and "catfights", which led to a strained friendship with the other three girls.[8] In a later interview, Adrienne Bailon, Sabrina Bryan and Kiely Williams denied the rumors and saying that they all get along really well. And the situation of her not being with The Cheetah Girls is that she left Disney.[9]
Raven has signed on to appear as a leading role in the upcoming sequel to Meet the Fockers in the upcoming 2011 comedy Little Fockers.
Music[]
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-Symoné's most successful single, reaching number sixty-eight on the Billboard Hot 100. The Undeniable album was bought up by TMG Records, who re-issued the album on November 14, 2006 under the title From Then Until. Although her first album was full of kid-rap, she used this album to display her vocal ability while still holding true to her rap roots.
Raven-Symoné sang some songs on the That's So Raven soundtrack album to the Disney Channel original series of the same name. The album debuted and peaked at #44 on the Billboard 200 and has been certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of 500,000 copies.[10] She also sang some tracks on the That's So Raven Too!, which is the second soundtrack album from the hit Disney Channel original series, That's So Raven. The soundtrack debuted and peaked at #44, on the Billboard 200, selling 22,600 copies in its first week.[citation needed] Since then, the soundtrack has sold 200,000 copies (as of 2007). In early 2003, Raven-Symoné signed a deal with Hollywood Records (A Disney owned label). On September 21, 2004, she released her third album This Is My Time. The album spawned one commercially released single, "Backflip", which received heavy rotation on both Disney Channel, as well on BET and MTV. The album debuted and peaked at number fifty-one on the Billboard 200 selling 19,000 copies in its first week of release and becoming her most successful album yet.[citation needed] This Is My Time has sold 315,000 copies in the U.S. and 520,000 copies worldwide.[citation needed] In 2005 Raven-Symoné embarked on a mini-concert tour to promote the album. Raven-Symoné made guest spots during the Summer of 2005 , but didn't tour to promote the album until 2006.
Raven-Symoné's fourth studio album Raven-Symoné was released on April 29, 2008.[11] The album features production by Sean Garrett (Beyoncé), The J.A.M. (Leona Lewis), Knightwritaz (singer Mario's production team), and The Clutch (Timbaland, Ciara). The first single released was "Double Dutch Bus" a remake of Frankie Smith's 1981 funk track. The single was released to radio on February 9, while the video was released on February 18, 2008. The single has been Raven-Symoné's most downloaded song on iTunes. It peaked at #9 on the iTunes Top R&B/Soul Downloads chart. The album debuted at #159 on Billboard's Top 200. Raven-Symoné also planned on starting her first all arena headlining tour The Pajama Party Tour this Spring, to promote her album but due to what promoters call "unforeseen difficulties" the tour was postponed until further notice. But during a recent interview it was confirmed that Raven-Symoné is currently rescheduling her tour and that it will kick off later this summer, but instead of being an all-arena tour, it will include both arena and amphitheatre venues. The new tour name was Raven-Symoné: Live in Concert Tour. Also, in the Summer of 2008, Raven-Symoné was the special host of Disney's Block Party Tour.[12]
During the middle of Raven-Symoné's 2008 Summer tour, It was officially announced that Raven-Symoné and Hollywood Records had parted ways; after Raven-Symoné had completed her 2 CD deal with the company, she decided not to renew her contract. In a recent interview with Teenmag.com Raven-Symoné announced that in late 2009, she would return to the studio to record her next album. She also stated that this would be her most mature album yet. This will be Raven-Symoné's first studio album that she's released since she has left Disney's Hollywood Records.[13] This will also be Raven-Symoné's second independent album.
Filmography[]
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1994 | The Little Rascals | Stymie's Girlfriend | appearance |
| 1998 | Dr. Dolittle | Charisse Dolittle | |
| 2001 | Dr. Dolittle 2 | Charisse Dolittle | |
| 2003 | Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time | Monique | Voice |
| 2004 | The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement | Princess Asana | appearance |
| Fat Albert | Danielle | Voice | |
| 2005 | Kim Possible: So the Drama | Monique | Voice |
| 2006 | Everyone's Hero | Marti Brewster | Voice |
| 2008 | College Road Trip | Melanie Porter | |
| Tinker Bell | Iridessa | Voice | |
| 2010 | Further Adventures in Babysitting[14] | Chris Parker | |
| 2011 | Little Fockers | Tamyra | Filming starts July 2009[15] |
| Film Made for Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Channel |
| 1999 | Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century | Nebula Wade | Disney Channel |
| 2003 | The Cheetah Girls | Galleria "Bubbles" Garibaldi | Disney Channel |
| 2004 | Zenon: Z3 | Nebula Wade | Disney Channel |
| 2006 | For One Night | Brianna McCallister | Lifetime Movie |
| The Cheetah Girls 2 | Galleria "Bubbles" Garibaldi | Disney Channel | |
| 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 | Lead role |
| Faye Baxter, Delroy Baxter, and Baby G | Episode: "Country Cousins" | ||
| 2017—present | Raven's Home | Raven Baxter | Lead role, also executive producer |
| Delroy Baxter | Episode: "A Country Cousin Christmas" | ||
| 2018—present | Big City Greens | Maria Media | Recurring role |
| Television 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 |
| 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 | uncredited | |
| 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" | |
| 1996 | Bill Nye the Science Guy | Herself | "Human Transportation" (episode 56, season 3) |
| 1997 | Space Ghost Coast to Coast | Herself | "Piledriver" (episode 51) |
| 2001 | My Wife and Kids | Charmaine |
|
| The Proud Family | Stephanie (voice) | "Seven Days of Kwanzaa" (episode 11, season 1) | |
| 2002 | The Weakest Link | Herself (contestant) | "NBC All-Stars Editon", Fifth one voted off |
| 2004 | Fillmore! | Maryanne Greene (voice) Alexandria Quarry (voice) |
|
| 2005 | Higglytown Heroes | Playground Monitor Hero (voice) |
|
| 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 | Raven Baxter | Guest star in "That's So in the House" episode |
| 2008 | WrestleMania XXIV | Herself | Guest announcer |
| American Dad! | Katie Wife |
"Office Spaceman" (Episode 14, Season 3) "Stanny Slickers II" (Episode 15, Season 3) | |
| Celebrity Family Feud | Herself | Was the team captain of Team Symoné and competed alongside her mother, brother and her on-screen mother and father from That's So Raven. | |
| Chelsea Lately | Herself | Talk Show Guest | |
| The Ellen DeGeneres Show | Herself | Talk Show Guest | |
| The Bonnie Hunt Show | Herself | Talk Show Guest | |
| 2009 | The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet | Herself | Talk Show Guest |
| Progressive Skating and Gymnastics Spectacular | Herself | Performing "What Are You Gonna Do?", "In Your Skin", "Keep a Friend", "Some Call It Magic" | |
| An Evening of Stars: Tribute to Patti LaBelle | Herself | Talk Show Guest | |
Discography[]
- Main article: Raven-Symoné discography
Studio albums[]
EPs[]
DVDs[]
|
Soundtracks[]
Concert tours[]
|
Awards and nominations[]
| Year | Status | Award | Category | Work |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990- | Nominated | Young Artist Award | Outstanding Performance by an Actress Under Nine Years of Age 9 | The Cosby Show |
| 1991 | Won | Young Artist Award | Exceptional Performance by a Young Actress | The Cosby Show |
| 1993 | Nominated | Young Artist Award | Outstanding Actress Under Ten in a Television Series | The Cosby Show |
| 1994 | Nominated | Young Artist Awards | Best Youth Comedienne | Hangin' With Mr. Cooper |
| 1996 | Nominated | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress | Hangin' With Mr. Cooper |
| 1999 | Nominated | Young Star Awards | Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Mini-Series/Made for TV Film | Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century |
| 2004 | Won | Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite TV Actress | That's So Raven |
| Won | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Series/Special | That's So Raven | |
| Won | Black Reel | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series | The Cheetah Girls | |
| Nominated | BET Comedy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series | That's So Raven | |
| Nominated | Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV Actress — Comedy | That's So Raven | |
| 2005 | Won | Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite TV Actress | That's So Raven |
| Won | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Series/Special | That's So Raven | |
| Won | Radio Disney Music Awards | Best Actor/Actress-Turned-Singer | ||
| Nominated | BET Comedy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series | That's So Raven | |
| Nominated | Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV Actress — Comedy | That's So Raven | |
| Nominated | BET Comedy Awards | Best Performance in an Animated Theatrical Film | Kim Possible: So the Drama | |
| 2006 | Won | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Series/Special | That's So Raven |
| Won | NAACP Image Awards | Junior Achievement Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Series/Special | That's So Raven | |
| Won | Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV Actress — Comedy | That's So Raven | |
| Nominated | Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite TV Actress | That's So Raven | |
| 2007 | Won | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Series/Special | That's So Raven |
| Won | NAMIC Vision Awards | 2007 North Star Award (top award) | ||
| Nominated | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series | That's So Raven | |
| Nominated | Radio Disney Music Awards | Favorite TV Star Who Sings | ||
| Nominated | Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite TV Actress | That's So Raven | |
| 2008 | Won | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Program — Series or Special | That's So Raven |
| Won | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Performance Program | That's So Raven | |
| Nominated | Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite TV Actress | That's So Raven | |
| Nominated | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Summer Comedy Movie/Performance | College Road Trip[17] | |
| Won | Summer Fort Myers Beach Film Festival | "Fav Summer Teen Flick Comedy" | College Road Trip | |
| 2009 | Won | Teen Music Internacioal: R&B - Brazil | Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for Girl Get It | Raven-Symoné[18] |
| Won | Best R&B Album | |||
| Won | Album of the Year | |||
| Nominated | Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for Anti-Love Song | |||
| Won | Trumpet Awards | Trumpet Awards Honorees - Pinnacle Award[19] |
Gallery[]
Raven Through The Ages[]
Miscellaneous[]
References[]
- ↑ "Raven Symone:Biography on MSN". MSN (2008). Retrieved on 2008-07-15.
- ↑ RavenSymonePresents.com
- ↑ Charlotte Moore (January 24, 2004). Raven takes flight PE.com.
- ↑ http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/la/winn/bios/sym1569.txt
- ↑ "Raven Biography". notablebiographies.com. Retrieved on 2009-01-04.
- ↑ Raven-Symone: 'I'm not a little kid anymore'
- ↑ "Raven-Symone takes ‘Cheetah Girls’ to Spain". msnbc.msn.com (21 August 2006). Retrieved on 04-01-2009.
- ↑ http://www.nationalledger.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=1&num=6127
- ↑ http://www.vividseats.com/concerts/the-cheetah-girls-tickets/articles/275.html
- ↑ That's So Raven Soundtrack: Gold by RIAA
- ↑ Raven~Symoné
- ↑ Raven~Symoné Tour
- ↑ http://www.teenmag.com/seen-in-teen/raven-symone-interview-2 New Album
- ↑ http://search.hollywood.com/movies/Further%20Adventures%20In%20Babysitting
- ↑ http://reelloop.com/news/news/470-those-little-fockers-find-their-director.html
- ↑ Raven-Symoné Live Tour to be contuined in 2009
- ↑ Teen Choice Awards
- ↑ http://archive.is/20120629222503/teenmusican.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2009-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2010-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=1
- ↑ http://www.trumpetfoundation.org/trumpet2009.htm
External links[]
- Official website
- Raven-Symoné on the Hollywood Records website
- Template:Allmusicguide
- Raven-Symoné on Internet Movie Database
Template:Raven-Symoné