Raven Symone Christina Pearman (born December 10, 1985),known professionally as Raven-Symoné or Raven, is an American actress, singer-songwriter, fashion designer, 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. Raven has also lent her voice to the animated series Kim Possible, for the character Monique. Raven-Symoné also owns a "how-to" video website, Raven-Symoné Presents.Raven-Symoné is currently lending her voice as the character Iridessa, from the Disney Tinker Bell film franchise.

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.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 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

1989-2002: Early roles
When she was just two, she was signed by the Ford Modeling Agency to help advance her career. In 1989, Raven-Symoné auditioned for a part in the Bill Cosby movie, Ghost Dad. She was too young for the role, 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-Symoné played the part of Olivia until 1992. She also appeared as the younger version of Halle Berry's title role as a headstrong biracial slave in the acclaimed TV adaptation of Queen: The Story of an American Family, based on the book by Alex Haley. Within a year after The Cosby Show ended, she 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.

2002-2007: That's so Raven and Cheetah Girls
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.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 her time on the show, Raven-Symoné provided the voice of Danielle in Fat Albert and made an appearance in 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. 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.

In 2003, Raven-Symoné starred as lead singer Galleria Garibaldi in The Cheetah Girls, a Disney Channel Original Movie about four city girls who dream 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.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 the time) Disney Channel's most-watched movie. Its soundtrack also débuted at number five, 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.

The Cheetah Girls: One World began production, but Raven-Symoné did not return to reprise her role as Galleria, allegedly due to problems with the other 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. In a later interview, Adrienne Bailon, Sabrina Bryan and Kiely Williams denied the rumors, saying they all get along well.