She’s the star of So Raven, Raven Symone is one of those stars who grew up on our screens. Beginning her career in show business from the age of two and representing major brands, Raven first made her mark on TV on The Cosby Show before hitting it big with “Absolutely Psychic” by Disney, later renamed That’s So Raven.
Raven has never looked back since and managed to keep her flag flying high. In addition to her exploits in the industry, Symone’s sexuality became a major topic of conversation as she transitioned into adulthood. Follow along as we explore everything there is to know about Raven Symone.
Raven Symone Bio, Parents
Although she is commonly referred to as RavenSymone, Raven’s birth name is Raven-Symoné Christina Pearman. She was born on December 10, 1985, in Atlanta, Georgia to parents Lydia (Gaulden) and Christopher Pearman, who have supported her career since day one. Her father has on at least one occasion defended the comments she made which were seen by some as controversial.
Symone’s other family member is a brother named Blaize.
Raven started modeling at the age of two, signing with Ford Models of New York. She represented well-known brands such as Jell-O, Ritz Crackers, Cool Whip and Fisher Price.
Also read: Miley Cyrus brothers, sisters, mom, dad, family and boyfriend
At the age of 3, Raven was confident enough to wow at her auditions for a role in Bill Cosby’s film ‘Ghost Da’, but she was turned down for the role as she was deemed too young for it. Nonetheless, she impressed Cosby who created a role for her on The Cosby Show, in which she played the role of Olivia Kendall, the step-granddaughter of Dr. Cliff Huxtable (played by Cosby).
Raven’s role lasted from the 6th season when she was part of the season finale in 1992. During her first break, Raven gained more exposure and landed more acting gigs, including a role in as a young Halle Berry in the movie Queen: An American Family Story.
Raven’s next major television role is “Hangin'” with Mr. Cooper” where she portrayed Nicole Lee. She quickly moved to the movies and made her debut in “The Little Rascals” (1994), which was moderately successful at the box office.
She had a major role in “Dr. Dolittle” playing the daughter of the titular character played by Eddie Murphy. This film spawned a sequel in 2001 where Raven reprized her role.
And then came 2002 and Raven hit her big break with Disney’s That So Raven. The series scored a record breaking number when it premiered and ran for 100 episodes, becoming Disney’s longest running series.
While on the hit series, Raven still managed to do other gigs, including film roles; The Cheetah Girls, voices in Kim Possible, Fat Albert and the TV show Fillmore!.
Post-That So Raven, Raven had roles in College Road Trip and The Bridesmaids’ Revenge (2010), as well as a handful of voice and live-action film roles.
Raven took a break in 2012 to study fine art at the Academy of Art University. She returned in 2015. In recent years, she has co-hosted The View, appeared on Fox’s Empire and KC Undercover.
She is the executive producer of Raven’s Home, a spinoff of That’s so Raven, which premiered on July 21, 2017.
Raven started performing music in 1993; However, she didn’t have much success with music until she was on That’s So Raven today, when she appeared on several Disney soundtracks.
Her latest album at the time of writing is her self-titled album released in 2008. She hinted at a 5th studio album in 2014 but the project was cancelled.
Net worth: $55 million
Raven earned a lot from her That So So Raven gig. For the first season, it totaled $20,000 per episode, then $35,000 per episode for the second season. The salary continued to rise. Thanks in part to her, Disney pulled in $400 million in revenue from the series which earned her being named a “$400 million girl” by Ebony Magazine, leading to speculation that Raven could reach $400 million.
Also read: Everything there is to know about Demi Lovato’s boyfriend
However, Disney’s profit on that revenue was $120 million, and Raven would be entitled to up to 30%, bringing its profit to around $20 million.
Husband, children
Raven has never been married to anyone. However, in 2009, rumors swirled that she had a relationship with Jussie Smollett and was even pregnant by her father, Smollett. The news had also said that Raven had given birth to their child, a girl named Lilliana Pearman. However, it was later confirmed that the rumors were false. Raven doesn’t have kids either.
Girlfriend
Raven is a lesbian. Her sexual orientation has long been the subject of much speculation as she did not want to share it with the public. In May 2012, she took to Twitter to explain that her sexual orientation was hers and anyone she dated was hers.
At the time, Raven had embarked on a romantic relationship with female model and actress AzMarie Livingston. However, she only confirmed the relationship in 2015, but a few months later they broke up.
Raven told Oprah in 2014 that she was attracted to boys and girls from the age of 12.
