PROFILE: Raven-Symoné
In our continued celebration of LGBTQ Pride Month, we take a look at Disney Channel favorite Raven-Symoné.
Symoné began her Disney career in 1990 on the special The Muppets at Walt Disney World where she got a chance to sing "The Rainbow Connection" with Kermit.
In 2003, she auditioned for the role of Chelsea Daniels in a show then called Absolutely Psychic, but Disney decided to design the show around her, even naming it after her. The show, of course, became That's So Raven which is her most famous role to date. She reprised her role of Raven Baxter in That's So Suite Life of Hannah Montana, a special crossover episode of That's So Raven, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, and Hannah Montana, as well as in the That's So Raven spin-off Cory in the House.
She then went to star as another famous role for her. She was picked to play Galleria Garibaldi in the Disney Channel Original Movie, The Cheetah Girls.
Symoné went on to star in a variety of Disney and Disney Channel Oiginal Movies, including Nebula Wade in Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century, Princess Asana in The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, Mel Porter in College Road Trip, and Iridessa in the Tinker Bell series.
She has also voiced characters for several animated series including Stephanie in The Proud Family, Monique in Kim Possible and its accompanying films, Maryanne Greene and Alexandrina Quarry in Fillmore!, Valkyrie in Guardians of the Galaxy and Maria Media in Big City Greens. She guest starred in the Disney Channel reality series PrankStars and the Bill Nye the Science Guy episode about human transportation, as well as guest-starred as Playground Monitor Hero in Higglytown Heroes.
And, Symoné has starred in various live action roles including Amber Algoode in Sonny with a Chance, Simone in K.C. Undercover and Rhonda Johnson in the ABC TV show Black-ish.
And, she released a great deal of music for Disney, including soundtracks for That's So Raven and The Cheetah Girls. She made a vocal appearance on several other Disney soundtracks, including The Haunted Mansion, The Lion King 1½, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, Ice Princess, and College Road Trip.
In 2015, she co-hosted The View on ABC. In 2017, she returned to the Disney Channel and her role as Raven Baxter in Raven's Home where her character is all grown up. She also played Betsy Hagg in Just Roll With It and directed the Sydney to the Max episode "Mrs. Harris' Opus."
In 2013, Symoné acknowledged being a lesbian in a Tweet, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Defense of Marriage Act, "I can finally get married! Yay government! So proud of you."
“While it was a selfish thing for me to keep my secret to myself for as long as I did, I am very happy that I’m out, if only to help someone else feel comfortable,” Raven-Symoné tells Variety as part of a 2019 interview for the inaugural Power of Pride issue. “It is about that one person who you’ll never see or meet who watches the show and feels that confidence to just say, ‘Hey, guess what? I’m gay. And if you can’t accept me, it’s okay, because I see Raven pushing through.’ That feels good. It’s a hard journey, though. It’s difficult.”