Raven-Symoné's Real Name: Raven-Symoné Christina Pearman

Quick answer: The actor and singer is known professionally as Raven-Symoné. Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television, via Encyclopedia.com, and a BlackPast biography both record the full name Raven-Symoné Christina Pearman and the birth date December 10, 1985, in Atlanta, Georgia.

Real name and early life

Encyclopedia.com lists the full name Raven-Symoné Christina Pearman, born December 10, 1985, in Atlanta, Georgia, and names her parents as Christopher and Monica Pearman, while noting that some sources say Lydia. BlackPast independently gives the same full name, date, and city, and names her parents as Christopher B. and Lydia (Gaulden) Pearman. Those accounts of her parents' names differ. Both say the family later moved to New York so she could work in entertainment, but they date that move differently: Encyclopedia.com ties it to early commercial work, while BlackPast places the move in the late 1990s. Both also describe early modeling work. Both mention an early connection to Bill Cosby's Ghost Dad: Encyclopedia.com says she auditioned for the film and was offered a Cosby Show role instead, and BlackPast independently says she auditioned for Ghost Dad at age four and was not cast because of her age.

Career highlights

Both accounts say she appeared as Olivia on The Cosby Show. Encyclopedia.com dates that work to the show's final three seasons, from 1989 to 1992, and names the character Olivia, the youngest resident of the Huxtable household. BlackPast independently says Bill Cosby later cast her as Olivia Kendall, the adopted daughter of Cosby's oldest daughter. Both then discuss her later highly popular Disney Channel series That's So Raven, which Encyclopedia.com dates to a 2003 debut and describes as the work for which she was sometimes billed simply as Raven. BlackPast independently records That's So Raven and also names The Cheetah Girls and a 1993 recording debut, Here's To New Dreams, on MCA. Encyclopedia.com independently says she signed with MCA when she was five. The sources differ on those early-career ages. BlackPast also names later acting work including Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, The Little Rascals, and the Dr. Dolittle films, and says she graduated from Atlanta's North Springs High School in 2003. Encyclopedia.com independently discusses the Cosby years in more detail, including a 1989 debut as Olivia during the show's sixth season and her remaining through the final episode in 1992.

Name notes for searchers

People looking up Raven-Symoné, Raven-Symone Christina Pearman, or Raven are looking for the same performer known from The Cosby Show and That's So Raven. Both sources used here record the longer name.