By the time she was three, Raven-Symoné had a good deal of modeling and acting experience under her belt. "Raven did everything early," says her mother, Lydia, a former systems analyst for the NCR Corp. "In fact, she tried to sing before she could talk." Symone was born December 10, 1985. As a baby, she went to work for Atlanta's Young Faces Inc. modeling agency. She was immediately featured in local print advertisements.. When she was two, the pre-schooler signed with Ford Models Inc. in New York. As a Ford model, she soon began appearing in National TV commercials for products including Ritz Crackers, Jell-O, Fisher Price toys, and Cool Whip.
Even though her modeling and acting career was in high gear, the Pearman family worked hard to maintain a normal home life. Part of the family's routine included gathering each Thursday night to watch The Cosby Show, the nation's top-ranked show of the time. One night while watching the show, Raven blurted out, "I can do what Rudy can do." She was referring to Keshia Knight-Pulliam's character. Raven's parents decided to give their ambitious daughter the chance to try her hand at acting. When she was three, she auditioned for a part in Ghost Dad, a movie directed by Sidney Poitier and starring Bill Cosby. She was too young for the role, but she caught the attention of people in the entertainment industry. Soon Raven was recommended for a part in The Cosby Show.
Cosby reportedly said, "OK, if this little girl reads three pages of script very well, I'll put her on the show." Like most three year olds, Raven couldn't read. The solution? "I had to memorize it," she says. "Everyday I worked on it because that's how you get it into your mind. At the audition I recited eight pages."
In 1989, she was cast as Olivia Kendall on The Cosby Show. She played Bill Cosby's step-granddaughter in the last three years of the 1984-1992 television series. "I remember people coming up to me on the street and thinking, 'This is what it's like being on TV,'" she told the Toronto Sun. Memories of her first series are a bit foggy, but she told USA Today, "I do remember the smells, how the set smelled, how Mr.Cosby smelled." Raven learned a great deal from her first series and still recalls the advice Cosby gave her, "Be a sweetie, always be humble, and know your lines."
--- from Wikipedia
From: justine
i am your number one fan!!!!!!!!as a maatter a fact Thats So Raven has been my favorite show on Disney Channel since THE DAY it became a show on television!!!!!!!!!!!!!