When you mention self-made, multi-hyphenate hustlers, you can't forget about our Original Good sis, Ms. Raven-Symone, who was securing a bag at as early as 16-months-old.
The actress, who has had many eggs and many baskets over the years, recently did an interview on Instagram Live with Jerome Trammel where she revealed that she's stacked so many coins, she hasn't even touched the residuals she's accumulated from her days on The Cosby Show.
TheThat's So Raven actress, who has also booked starring roles in Dr. Dolittle, The Cheetah Girls, and was formerly a host on The View, is currently worth around $50 million and doesn't plan on stopping her grind anytime soon. In an interview with Hot New Hip Hop, Raven explained:
"I started out in it when I was 16-months-old before I had a choice. So, if you strip me of the industry…that's a deep strip."
Like most child actresses, Raven said that her journey to success was far from easy and rarely her decision.
"It's not like I started when I was 15. I didn't start when I was 12. I got out of the womb, said hi, and then they put me on television."
Although Raven is still working hard to come into her own as a woman, the actress noted that she will never forget the lessons she learned from the industry that raised her:
"Know that everything that comes from my mouth is because I was raised in the industry that you supported me in. This is what I saw. These are the people I came in contact with. These are the lessons that I've learned. This is the business that I've known. Good, bad, weird, fumbles of words. That's just who I am and I can't apologize for it because I started when I was 16-months old."
Along with Raven, here are four more of our favorite celebrities who went from child star to OG Hustler:
Keke Palmer
Last year, Keke Palmer landed a job as the youngest talk show host in television history on the Strahan, Sara, and Keke Show but this 26-year-old multi-hyphenate isn't new to the entertainment industry, she's true to it. After booking her first feature film at the age of nine, Keke has been consistently killing it on the big and small screen and we love to see it.
Keshia Knight-Pulliam
Newark-born actress Keshia Knight-Pulliam spent much of her childhood on-screen and later received a Bachelor's in Sociology from Spelman in 2001. Today, Keshia is responsible for co-founding a $5 million venture capital fund that was launched specifically to invest in black woman-owned businesses.
Kyla Pratt
We first met Kyla Pratt in 1997 as a guest star on Walker Texas Ranger and later as Eddie Murphy's clairvoyant daughter in Dr. Dolittle and two decades later, the One On One star still has her foot on the industry's neck. In February, Disney announced that they would be rebooting The Proud Familly with Kyla reprising her lead role as Penny Proud.
Meagan Good
38-year-old Meagan Good began her acting career at only four-years-old and secured her first feature film alongside Ice Cube and Chris Tucker in the 1995 classic Friday and it's safe to say that our good sis has been consistently booked and busy for the last 25 years. Along with furthering her acting career, Meagan also became a published author when she and her husband DeVon Franklin released The Wait in 2015.
Featured image by Instagram/@ravensymone.
