Raven-Symoné
Template:Infobox musical artist 2
Raven-Symoné Christina Pearman (born December 10, 1985 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American actress, R&B and pop singer, songwriter, dancer, and producer. She is professionally known as Raven and Raven-Symoné. "Symoné" is always pronounced without the accent at the end, despite the spelling.
Biography
Early life and acting career
As a baby, Raven 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 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 too young for the role, but was recommended for a part in The Cosby Show, eventually being cast as Olivia in February 1989. After the series ended, Symoné released her debut album in 1993 called Here's to New Dreams, which featured the single "That's What Little Girls Are Made Of." That year, she also joined the cast of ABC's sitcom Hangin' with Mr. Cooper as Nicole, the daughter of Mark Curry's cousin.
Raven had a role in 1998's Dr. Dolittle, and returned for the first sequel as well. In 1999 she starred in the Disney original film Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century as Nebula, the best friend of the title character played by Kirsten Storms. In between her starring roles, Raven attended the North Springs High School; an Atlanta area Arts and Science high school; though she left to go on to first sequel, she is an honorary graduate of North Springs High School.
Starting in 2003, Raven starred in the megahit Disney Channel Original Series That's So Raven as Raven Baxter, a teenager with psychic abilities; it became Disney's highest-rated and longest running series and spawned sucessful 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 in the Disney original film The Cheetah Girls and its popular and sucessful soundtrack. She also starred in The Cheetah Girls 2: When in Spain, the sequel to The Cheetah Girls. She has also appeared in the films Zenon: Z3, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, and Fat Albert. In 2006 she starred in the Lifetime film For One Night.
Raven also has her own production company, this company is currently co-producing the entire last season of That's So Raven. [1]
Musical career
Here's to New Dreams (1993) was the debut album by Raven-Symoné. It spawned four singles: "That's What Little Girls Are Made Of", "First Day of School", "Raven Is the Flavor", and "Hip Hop Teddy Bear". "That's What Little Girls Are Made Of" was Raven's most successful single. It hit number sixty-eight on the Billboard Hot 100, thirty-nine on the Rhythmic Top 40, forty-seven on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks, and forty-three on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales. Sales were disappointing; 35,000 units to date in the U.S. and over 150,000 worldwide. Her record company shortened her contract as a result of poor sales.
In 1999, Raven released the album Undeniable. The albums had three official singles. They were "Bounce", "Lean on Me", and "With a Child's Heart". The album has sold 100,000 copies in the U.S. and over 350,000 worldwide. In 2000, MCA Records, her label, dropped her from their roster. In early 2003 she signed a deal with Hollywood Records the current label that features teen pop superstar Hilary Duff.
Several years later, Raven began recording a new album right after she landed a deal with Hollywood Records. In September 2004 she released her third album This Is My Time it features R&B flavors, pop-rock songs and one song from a movie soundtrack she was featured on, in all there are 12 songs on the album. The album spawned the more successful hits "Backflip", "Bump", "Grazing in the Grass", and the title "This Is My Time". The album debuted at number fifty-one on the Billboard 200 selling 20,000 copies in the first week. It has been her biggest and most successful album yet. However, it has marked a new musical level for Raven. This Is My Time has sold about 500,000 copies worldwide. Raven soon embarked on her first solo tour to promote the 2004 album "This Is My Time" and her many soundtrack songs from Disney films and shows, she is also currently recording a fourth studio album due out in late 2006.
Selected filmography
Films
Year | Title | Role |
2008 | Adventures in Babysitting | Chris Parker |
2007 | Double Dutch | Unknown |
2006 | Everyone's Hero | Marti (voice) |
2006 | The Cheetah Girls 2 | Galleria Garibaldi |
2006 | For One Night | Brianna McCallister |
2005 | Kim Possible: So the Drama | Monique (voice) |
2004 | Fat Albert | Danielle (voice) |
2004 | The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement | Asana |
2004 | Zenon: Z3 | Nebula Wade |
2003 | Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time | Monique (present) (voice) |
2003 | The Cheetah Girls | Galleria Garibaldi |
2001 | Dr. Dolittle 2 | Charisse Dolittle |
1999 | Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century | Nebula Wade |
1998 | Dr. Dolittle | Charisse Dolittle |
1994 | The Little Rascals | Stymie's girlfriend |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
2006 | The Suite Life of Zack and Cody | Raven Baxter | Three-way crossover episodes of That's So Raven, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, and Hannah Montana |
2005 | Higglytown Heroes | Playground Monitor Hero (voice) | "Wayne's Ripping Adventure/Meet Eubie's Cousin" (episode 14, 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) |
2003–2007 | That's So Raven | Raven Baxter | |
2002 | Kim Possible | Monique (voice) | Recurring character |
2001 | The Proud Family | Stephanie (voice) | "Seven Days Of Kwanzaa" (episode 11, season 1) |
2001 | My Wife and Kids | Charmaine | "Mom's Away (Part 1)" (episode 1, season 2) "Mom's Away (Part 2)" (episode 2, season 2) |
1995 | Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child | Goldilocks (voice) | "The Prince and the Pauper" |
1993–1997 | Hangin' with Mr. Cooper | Nicole Lee | Seasons 2–5 |
1993 | Queen: The Story of an American Family | 5-year-old Queen | |
1993 | Blindsided | Singer | |
1992 | The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air | Claudia | "Vying for Attention" (episode 21, season 2) |
1990 | The Muppets at Walt Disney World | Young girl | Made-for-TV film |
1989–1992 | The Cosby Show | Olivia Kendall | Seasons 6–8 |
1989 | A Different World | Olivia Kendall | "Forever Hold Your Peace" (episode 5, season 3) |
Discography
External links
Websites
- Ravenlive.com - Raven's official website
- Raven's Hollywood Records website
- That's So Raven Official website
- RavenLive.org (fansite)
- Raven-Symoné at IMDb
Forum(s)
Notes and references
- 1985 births
- Living people
- African-American actors
- African-American singers
- African-American singer-songwriters
- American actor-singers
- American child actors
- American child singers
- American comedians
- American film actors
- American pop singers
- American rhythm and blues singers
- American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters
- American television actors
- American voice actors
- Disney child actors
- Disney voice actors
- Georgia (U.S. state) musicians
- Kids' Choice Awards winners
- Kim Possible voice actors
- Hollywood Records artists
- People from Atlanta
- People from Georgia (U.S. state)
- That's So Raven actors
- The Suite Life of Zack & Cody actors
- The Cheetah Girls actors
- Zenon actors