Talented and precocious, child star Raven Symone has been in the spotlight for almost as long as she has been alive. Born on December 10, 1985 in Atlanta, GA, Symone began her career at an early age as a child model. Her family soon relocated to New York, where the gifted young girl signed on with the Ford Modeling Agency. Symone auditioned for a part in “Ghost Dad”, starring Bill Cosby, and though too young for the part, Symone impressed the casting director, who then introduced her to the movie’s star. Cosby was also impressed, both with her personality and her ability to remember lines, and wanted her to be on his show, “The Cosby Show.” Symone made her television debut on Cosby’s show in 1989 as Olivia Kendall, thus starting an impressive showbiz career.
Symone would later revive her character on the Cosby spin-off, “A Different World” (1990), but the versatile performer would go on to other endeavors, including a recording career. Her first album, “Here’s To New Dreams”, was released in 1993; and the single, “That’s What Little Girls Are Made Of” became a hit. While making music in the studio and on the stage, Symone continued to perform on TV, landing a role on an episode of “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” (’91-’92 Season).
Symone then appeared as Nicole Lee, a regular on the hit series, “Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper”, which ran from 1992-1997. In between her stint on the series, Symone made television appearances wherever she could: as host of NBC’s “Friday Night Videos”, as a guest on “Muhammad Ali’s 50th Birthday Celebration” (1992) and as a presenter on the NAACP Image Awards (1994). The NAACP later awarded Symone with a Junior Achievement Award. Symone was widely recognized by other organizations for her accomplishments in both film and television at an age
In 1994, Symore made her film debut as Stymie’s girlfriend in “The Little Rascals”, a feature film version of the popular comedy shorts. The mid-90’s were spent mostly working on “Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper”, with a few special guest appearances here and there. After the show ended, Symone went back to bouncing around different TV series, including “My Wife and Kids” (2001); as the sidekick Nebula Wade in the family oriented sci-fi comedy "Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century" (1999) and its sequel "Zenon: Z3" (2004); and “Kim Possible” (2002), where she offered her voice talents to the animated series and its various TV movie spin-offs. Symone also continued to make films, starring as Charisse Dolittle in “Dr. Dolittle” (1998) and its szequel, “Dr. Dolittle 2” (2001).
Next Symone got her own show on The Disney Channel, “That’s So Raven” (2002 - ), where she played an eccentric teenager with a gift for seeing into the future. That series proved enormously popular with its young audience, adding further heat to Symone's career, resulting in further big screen roles including playing Asana, the musically gifted friend of Princess Mia (Anen Hathaway) in the popular sequel "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement" (2004), a role that allowed her to sing the rousing "Your Crowning Glory" opposite screen musical legend Julie Andrews
When not appearing on screen, large or small, Symone continued her recording career with her sophomore effort, “Undeniable”, which contained the single “With A Child’s Heart.” Symone made several appearances at various military bases, including Fort Eglin (AFB, Fla.) and Fort Hood (Texas.) She also volunteered for the Drug Awareness Resistance Education Program and Gen. Colin Powell’s “Children’s First” program.