RAVEN SIMONE is best known for her role as Olivia Kendall, granddaughter on the Cosby Show when she was 4 years old. Also, Nicole Lee on Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, Galleria Garbaldi In The Cheetah Girls, The Cheetah Girls 2, & Raven Baxter on her own show - That's So Raven.
Most recently appeared in Chris Rock's documentary Good Hair, exploring the way hair styles affect women's lives in the black community. Raven has also lent her voice to the animated series Kim Possible, & to a children's show based on different fairy tales, Happily Ever After. She owns a 'how-to' video website, Raven-Symone' Presents. Currently she is voicing the character Iridessa from the Disney Tinker Bell film franchise.
Ravin was born in Atlanta, Georgia. There she worked for Atlanta's young Faces Inc. Modeling Agency & was featured in local print advertisements. At age 2 she worked with Ford Models in New York City & appeared in ads for Ritz Crackers, Jell-O, Fisher-Price, & Cool Whip. Raven has enjoyed many other character roles, too numerous to add to this short then & now article.1990-1999: Career development.
Raven-Symoné began her career when her father had her signed to MCA Records in 1990, age five. She spent that year and the next taking vocal lessons from Melissa Elliott. She then began recording her album and, 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 & 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 album itself however was not very successful, and she was dropped from MCA Records in 1995.
In 1996, Raven-Symoné & her father founded RayBlaize Records, an independent label. However she eventually signed a dual contract with Crash Records in 1997. RayBlaize then began recording Raven's sophomore album, which was to be distributed by Crash. Undeniable was released on May 4, 1999. The album only spawned one single With a Child's Heart, a remake of a classic Michael Jackson tune. 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.
2002-2005: First commercial success
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.
In early 2003, she signed a deal with Hollywood Records, a Disney owned label. In January 1, 2004, prior to the release of her first album on Hollywood, she released a five-song EP, This Is My Time Advance EP to promote the album. 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. This Is My Time has sold 235,000 copies in the U.S. and 1,235,000 copies worldwide.
In 2005 Raven-Symoné embarked on a mini-concert tour to promote the album. She made guest spots during summer 2005.
To promote her second album, "Undeniable" was bought by TMG Records, who re-released it as, "From Then Until..." in November 2006. She then launched the "This Is My Time Tour", and she also sang some tracks on the That's So Raven Too!, which is the second soundtrack album from the series, That's So Raven, also released in 2006. The soundtrack debuted and peaked at #44, on the Billboard 200, selling 22,600 copies in its first week. Since then, the soundtrack has sold 200,000 copies (as of 2007). During the tour for the album, Raven-Symoné recorded the show on DVD format on June 25, 2006 in the show house Coliseo Roberto Clemente in Puerto Rico, and additional recordings on July 22, 2006 in Los Angeles, in High Definition.
2007-2009: Raven-Symoné
Raven-Symoné's fourth studio album Raven-Symone' was released on April 29, 2008. The album features production by Sean Garrett (Beyonce'), The J.A.M. (Leona Lewis), Knightwritaz (singer Mario's production team), and The Clutch (Timbaland, Clara). The first and only 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 album debuted at #159 on Billboard's Top 200. Raven-Symoné also planned on headlining her first all arena tour The Pajama Party Tour in Spring 2008, to promote her album but due to what promoters call "unforeseen difficulties" the tour was postponed until further notice.
Also, during the Summer of 2008, Raven-Symoné was the special host of Disney's Block Party Tour. 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.
2009-present
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. Symoné said that the album will be "R&B, most definitely ... with an alternative base for the lyrics". Symone said the following about who she would like to collaborate with: "It's good to go out there and spread your wings and find new talent and work with people you haven't worked with before. I'd love to find the next Pharrell or the next someone who's coming up and no one really knows yet, At the same time, I'd love to work with the Clutch and the J.A.M. again"