Raven-Symone Christina Pearman-Maday started her career as a child actress on The Cosby Show and Hangin' with Mr. Cooper. At the age of 16, she graduated to be the first Black woman to have her name on a comedy series title with the Disney Channel show That's So Raven by playing Raven Baxter. She was named producer of That's So Raven at age 19 and won four NAACP Image Awards.
Other TV appearances for the three-time Daytime Emmy Award nominee have ranged from black-ish, Master of None and Empire to several seasons as co-host on The View.
Her film credits include the original Dr. Dolittle along with the sequel, The Princess Diaries 2, College Road Trip and both of The Cheetah Girls movies. This has led her to perform on soundtracks and create solo albums as a musician over the years.
The actress reprised her role as Baxter on Raven's Home in 2017. The series is a spinoff revolving around a divorced mother of twins living with her childhood best friend and her son Levi. The setting for the Disney Channel television show was originally set in Chicago but has now moved to San Francisco for season five.
Raven-Symone came out in 2016 publicly stating that she knew she was gay since 12 years old but didn't address it until college. Disney offered to make the main character a lesbian, but Raven-Symone declined and voted to keep Baxter straight.
She explained in a recent interview with Windy City Times that she doesn't visit Chicago as much as she used to when she dropped into Roscoe's Tavern years ago, "It is funny, because before I got married, I was dating someone who had a job in Chicago, so I was out there a lot more. I visited a few times here and there, great steaks, honey! I enjoy Chicago fully. I love the particle collider out there. Those that know me, know I enjoy physics!" She was referring to the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory located just outside of Batavia, Illinois near Chicago.
During the interview, she mentioned some of the guest stars planned for the new season of Raven's Home. "Adrienne Bailon-Houghton is on this season and coming back to play Alana. She is absolutely hilarious and we enjoyed this time together. She has said to me that she loves sitcoms and playing this part again."
Raven-Symone went on to say that Rondell Sheridan, who played her father on That's So Raven, is returning to the spinoff also and he is now a grandfather. "We call him "Pop Pop" now, which is super awesome. As the season continues there are going to be some wonderful nostalgic moments from characters I have played in the past, as well as others, that will be coming in and sprinkling their love and joy throughout the season."
When asked about LGBTQ+ storylines for future possibilities of Raven's Home she proudly said, "Hell yeah, of course! I am a part of the LGBTQI+ community and let me tell you something, we are practicing what we preach when it comes to relevant content. Our writing staff, crew and cast are all diverse. I think it is very important to incorporate what is actually happening in society so that everybody can be represented and validated in who they are and the choices they have made to live their most authentic selves. That is super important.
I don't know I would happy as I am if I didn't have that representation. One of the things that I love the most is that we have the inclusive flag with all the colors on the window of The Chill Grill. We are putting that out there because it is important and must be seen!
She described the proudest moment of her career happening on a particular episode of That's So Raven titled Country Cousins where she played the characters of a man, a baby and an older woman plus her title role of Raven. "There are now more female sketch comediennes out in the world, thank goodness for Saturday Night Live and A Black Lady Sketch Show, but I was able to do it at such a young age. I was showing that, sorry for tooting my own horn, pretty girls can do it too! We can be funny and make it happen. So many times, people are put in a box and told they are pretty and just have to sit there. No, we can do anything. We can play all the characters and I hope people saw that."
This multitalented performer stated she is not releasing new music anytime soon but is instead focused on acting and executive producing instead. She chose to promote her costar instead by saying, "Isaac Ryan Brown, who plays my son is coming out with some new music in a few months. I just got married and have been focused on my relationship." Raven-Symone was married on June 20, 2020, to Miranda Pearman-Maday. The two have a YouTube Channel together that is released weekly called 8PM.
Raven's Home will debut a brand new, sharply written season on the Disney Channel on March 11, 2022. The star of the show said she's especially excited about Raven's Home this season because they are in a new city and thrilled to bring relevant storylines to everyone. "There are so many places audiences can go for their content and we are diligent with ours. We want people over here with us on Raven's Home!"
