raven-Symone Is The Good Girl

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Raven-Symone — to her fans, it’s just Raven — is one of the rare child stars who’s transitioned into adult stardom without baggage loaded down by rumors, arrests or videotaped infamy.
The 20-year-old actress, model and singer multitasks like other Disney alumni such as Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and the Olsen Twins. But Raven has avoided the screaming tabloid headlines.
Raven, who got her start as Olivia on “The Cosby Show” and Nicole on “Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper,” gained high-profile status as Raven Baxter, the psychic teen on “That’s So Raven.”
She’s maintained a down-to-earth image that youngsters, tweens and parents love.
“It’s something all five of us enjoy on Friday nights with some pizza,” says Caroline Bennett, author of the children’s story “Charley’s Columbia Backyard.”
Bennett has three children — Coleman, 7; Anna Young, 5; and William, 3 — who have picked up Raven’s catch phrases such as “Oh snap.” Raven’s sometimes outrageous humor is what holds their interest.
“They enjoy her youthful style,” Bennett says. “I’ve found it one of the most family-oriented, child-friendly nighttime shows.” Raven, whose 5 p.m. Saturday performance at the State Fair sold out early, is a role model parents like Bennett don’t mind their children emulating.



Here’s how Raven has maintained her good-girl image:


WHERE’S THE PARTY?

If you’re looking for one, don’t ask Raven. If you stay in, you stay out of trouble.
“I stay at my house,” she says. “There’s a lot of funny stuff that happens at night. I go home, feed my dog and I watch ‘Law & Order.’” (If you’re wondering, her favorite “L&O” is “SVU,” but she’s been getting into Vincent D’Onofrio and “CI”).Since she doesn’t hang in L.A.’s nightclubs, Raven doesn’t have an entourage. Thus, no cameras are following her.
Raven couldn’t be more different from, say, Lohan, who enjoys jetsetting in L.A. and New York while suffering wardrobe malfunctions.

SHE IS WHO SHE IS

The tabloids haven’t questioned Raven’s weight and dieting habits. Though not fashion- magazine skinny, she’s comfortable with her size.
“The people who have followed me for 20 years have been following me with the way that I look,” Raven says.
“That’s So Raven” tackled the issue in an episode in which Raven’s character was told she had to lose weight to get a part.
“She was very hurt and tried very hard to fit in that mold and she couldn’t,” Bennett says. “She finally said: ‘this is who I am.’ And I thought that was a great message.”
Contrast that with Mary-Kate Olsen, who entered an Arizona treatment facility in 2004 amid rumors of anorexia and drug addiction. At the time, the Olsen twin was Nicole Richie-thin.

(NOT) A LOT OF TALK

Raven isn’t a star who opens her life to the public.
Ask her if she’s in a relationship. “I don’t talk about that,” she says flatly.
“I never told any of my friends my business unless they needed to know,” she says. “You have to be with me for a long period of time before you know anything about me.
“I maybe have two people in my circle.”
And she changes her cell phone number every two months.
Her private life is just that. Don’t expect her to invite cameras into her living room like Jessica Simpson on MTV’s “Newlyweds.”
And don’t expect her to do soul-bearing interviews like Spears’ “Dateline” appearance. The only thing we learned about Spears is that her publicist and makeup artist chose the wrong day to take off.