Actress Raven-Symoné is mourning her father, Christopher B. Pearman. The 38-year-old Disney star shared the news via a social media post. In the post, Raven-Symoné shared a throwback image of her and her late father when she was a child. In the photo, she was all smiles between her father and a woman.
“My life has been long and abundant. And the path I’m on started with a dream. Hope he is watching with a smile on his face… 🕊️#christopherbpearman,” the caption under the photo read.
One social media user commented on the post to confirm that Christopher had passed. “Are you saying your dad passed away???? Him and I are friends on fb and we are very close and I need to know for real ??????????” the user wrote. The podcast host responded “yes maam,” to the commenter.
There was an outpour of love and condolences from fans and celebrities alike. Actress Holly Robinson Peete, Yvette Nicole Brown, and Yvette Nicole Brown all sent well wishes in the comment section.
Christopher played a notable role in Raven-Symoné’s career–he was her manager until she requested to manage her own money.
In 2010, during an interview with NPR, Pearman discussed the transition and how he felt about it.
‘She got to a point, you know, she said, “Daddy, I can run my own company. I can run my own thing” a few years ago…’ he said at the time.
He also said he was ‘absolutely not’ hurt by her decision to manage her own company.
“I’ve been managing that girl’s career since she was six months old. It’s just like you having a child and saying, you know, I’m ready to go to college and do my own thing and move out the house. You know, it’s like okay, go ahead,” he said during the NPR interview.
Pearman helped Raven on her journey to becoming a star when she expressed her desire to become an actress at the age of two after watching The Cosby Show.
“I saw the seriousness in her eyes and then giving her the understanding [of] what it would take, and she agreed to what it would take.’
Over the years, Christopher also tried his hand at producing and directing a few episodes of That’s So Raven – a successful Disney sitcom the 38-year-old played the lead role in.
This has been a season of grief for the actress, considering she lost her younger brother, Blaize, to colon cancer in November last year.
“’Last month, I lost my brother. He is in a better place now. He’s loved and missed. The emotions that have been coming are waving in and out of my body and mind. My family has been a little bit closer,” she wrote in a social media post. This season, we are sending lots of healing energy to Raven-Symoné and her family.