Raven Symone was just 4 years old when she first appeared on The Cosby Show in 1989, and her addition to the show made it even more successful than it already was. But how did Bill Cosby discover her in the first place?
Well, as a baby, young Raven was already working as a model. By the age of three, she had already been featured in print ads and television commercials for several global brands including Ritz crackers, Jell-O, Fisher-Price, and Cool Whip.When she was 3 years old, she auditioned for a role in Ghost Dad, a film that Bill himself was executive producing and starring in. She didn't get the role, but Bill loved her talent and decided to cast her instead as a permanent character on The Cosby Show as his step-granddaughter Olivia.
She made her debut at exactly the right time because the show's viewership had been declining. But when she made her debut in the first episode of the show's 6th season, the rest was history.
In fact, her role was so impressionable that when the show ended in 1992, she immediately landed another role as Nicole Lee on the show Hangin' with Mr. Cooper with comedian Mark Curry. She again helped strengthen the viewership and continued in that role until the show ended in 1997.
Not too long after that and a few movie appearances later, she was offered her own show on Disney called That's So Raven.
