For many young Hollywood stars, walking a red carpet comes with glamorous gowns, designer loans and stylists pulling looks from the industry's biggest names. Raven-Symoné, however, says her experience was very different. As a teenager in the spotlight, she had to pay for her own red-carpet clothes because designers simply did not make pieces in her size.
The That's So Raven star, now 40, opened up about the experience on her Tea Time with Raven & Miranda podcast with wife Miranda Maday. Looking back, she made it clear that the issue was about far more than clothes—she felt overlooked by an industry that had little room for bodies like hers.
Raven-Symoné on Buying Her Own Red Carpet Looks
Raven-Symoné didn't hold back when explaining why fashion was never free for her.
'My fashion is never free,' she said on the podcast, before explaining: 'I've had to buy it my whole entire life because of my size... I had to buy everything that I wore on those carpets.'
While discussing the perks celebrities can receive for promoting products, the actress said she did not get the same treatment growing up.
The cost could also be significant. She emphasised that she sometimes had to purchase outfits worth thousands because finding clothes in her size was difficult.
That frustration eventually boiled over as she bluntly dismissed the fashion industry's treatment of her, saying: 'So fashion could f*** off'. She added that she was not sorry for saying it because she felt 'no one ever took care of me back then'.
Raven-Symoné said her relationship with fashion is different today. She explained that she now wears clothes from friends who, in her words, come from people who actually care about people her size. She also pointed to the changing attitude towards fuller bodies, noting that it is now considered 'cool to be thick'.
The Body Image Pressure She Faced
Her latest comments are part of a much longer conversation about body image and the pressure she faced while growing up in show business.
In 2023, Raven-Symoné revealed that she underwent two breast reduction surgeries and liposuction before turning 18. She said weight-related criticism had influenced her decisions, recalling that she even wondered whether liposuction would stop people from calling her 'fat'.
She also described experiencing a seizure after waking from anaesthesia following one of the procedures. She said she continues to have scar tissue from the procedures.
How She Became Disney Channel Favourite
Raven-Symoné was already an experienced child performer before she became a Disney Channel favourite. She appeared on The Cosby Show as Olivia Kendall and later became one of Disney's most recognisable young stars.
Her breakthrough came with That's So Raven, which premiered on Disney Channel in 2003. The series followed Raven Baxter, a teenager who could catch glimpses of the future and often found herself trying to deal with the chaos those visions created.
The show ran for four seasons and helped turn Raven-Symoné into a household name among a generation of viewers. She also starred as Galleria in The Cheetah Girls, adding music and film success to her television career.
Now, years after those Disney days, Raven-Symoné is looking back at the less glamorous side of being a teenage celebrity. Her story is a reminder that a polished red-carpet appearance does not always mean the star behind it was being fully supported—and, for her, finding clothes that fit came with a price tag.
