Not a child star anymore! Raven-Symoné made her Hollywood debut in the early 1990s and became a household name following her Disney Channel days.
While Raven had various TV show and movie roles before starting out on Disney, the actress nabbed her first role on the network in 1999. At the time, she starred as Nebula Wade in the Disney Channel Original Movie Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century. Then, she had a voice role on The Proud Family before starring as Monique on Kim Possible. In 2003, That’s So Raven premiered, and Raven skyrocketed to stardom as Raven Baxter.
The fan-favorite series aired until 2007. Years later, Raven returned to her role in 2017 for Raven’s Home. Except, this time around, she wasn’t a psychic teen, she was a psychic mom of two.
While chatting with Beverly Hills Magazine about transitioning from a child star to an adult in the industry, the Cheetah Girls alum said she’s formed a close bond with the Raven’s Home stars who play her kids on screen — Navia Robinson and Issac Ryan Brown.
“They’ve been very open with me and talked to me about things, and I’ve given advice. I appreciate that they respect what I have to say, but they still have to go through that journey on their own,” Raven said during the July 2019 interview. “They are starting their journey in the entertainment industry, so they don’t want to say ‘no’ to anything. They want to take every opportunity possible. I tell them they need to take a break. Of course, my journey was different from theirs; I grew up in a different time period. Now, there are so many more rules regarding child actors, and people who are looking out for their safety and well-being.”
Throughout her time in the spotlight, Raven has also been open about her sexuality. The actress married Miranda Maday in June 2020. During an appearance on the “Pride” podcast in September 2021, Raven also revealed why she didn’t want to make her iconic character, Raven Baxter, a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
“There was a conversation before the series started and I was asked the question, ‘Would you like Raven Baxter to be a lesbian?’ And I said, no. I said no,” she explained. “The reason I said, no, wasn’t because I wasn’t proud of who I was, or I didn’t want to represent the LGBTQ+ community in any way. It was because Raven Baxter is Raven Baxter is Raven Baxter. There was no reason for me to change the human that she was in order to fit the actress that played her. And Raven Baxter is a character that I was proud to play. Even if she is straight, cisgender, I don’t mind, let her have her moment.”
Scroll through our gallery to see Raven’s transformation over the years.
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