Former child star Raven-Symoné is best known by one generation as the cute and loveable Olivia from The Cosby Show. She's known by another generation for the role of Raven Baxter on the Disney Channel television hit series That's So Raven (2003–2007), for which she was nominated for numerous accolades.
Raven is all grown up now and is producing, directing, and revealing a lot about herself and others.
She and her wife Miranda Pearman-Maday have been asking the burning questions on episodes of their new joint podcast "The Best Podcast Ever." Recently, the actress stated, “I had two breast reductions and lipo before I turned 18.”
"I remember waking up and seeing everything… and then I just started to have this dry mouth and couldn't breathe and went back under,'" Symoné shared on the podcast.
"Just knowing that the reason I opened my eyes and couldn’t swallow or breathe was because I was having a seizure, remembering that moment but not remembering the seizure… still freaks me out."
Seizures Following the Surgery
Raven-Symoné shocked listeners when she stated she had a medical scare during one of the procedures.
"That first one that I had, I actually had a seizure when I woke up from the surgery. I remember waking up and seeing everything. I was like, nah. I started to have this dry mouth and couldn't breathe, and then [I woke up] they were like they were like, 'You had a seizure.'"
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She said the memory of the seizure "still freaks" her out a little bit, and that she carried both physical and emotional scars from that period in her life.
"It was just a mess, being that young, and the pain of it all, honey. I disassociated, so the recovery was a little painful. I had scars, I still have scar tissue to this day. I gained weight after and had to go back for a quick little bit more out because they were still too big," Raven-Symoné continued.
After her first procedure, the "That’s So Raven" star said she had to return to the plastic surgeon for another operation since she continued to "gain weight."
Why She Had Plastic Surgery
Symoné, being a minor when she first received plastic surgery, added that her dad was the one who highly recommended his daughter get the procedures done.
She revealed that her father encouraged her to do so in response to the body criticism the Disney alum faced. “There was paperwork involved. My dad suggested strongly that I should get my breasts reduced.” She went on to say, “He was like, ‘So you don’t feel bad, is there anything that you want?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, if I get lipo, will people stop calling me fat?’”
While she speculated that she likely needed the breast reduction to improve her overall comfort into adulthood, she's still conflicted over the liposuction.
"Shirts fit well, but even though I got the breast reduction, nobody knew at that age, and I still got reamed through social media because I wasn't as skinny as everybody else and they still called me fat," she observed. "So, it's like, you get that done and it's still not what everybody wanted to see."
She disclosed last year that she lost 40 pounds after kicking sugar. According to Page Six, the star admitted on The View that she was addicted to sugar but has been able to avoid it and embrace a healthier diet due to her wife’s cooking skills. “With her help and guidance and love and fantastic cooking skills … she helped me kick sugar.” Raven also was motivated to lose weight after receiving a health report from her doctor. The singer went from 210 pounds to 170 pounds.
Cosmetic surgery, which was once exclusive to older women, is a newer trendy option for teenagers with an adolescent hang-up. Headlines were made over when a 15-year-old British girl decided to get breast implants for her sixteenth birthday. Her parents supported her, but the doctors refused and told them that she would have to wait till she was 18
Pediatric plastic surgeons perform both reconstructive and cosmetic surgery.
Reconstructive surgery repairs a physical defect that affects a child's ability to function normally (e.g., a cleft palate).
Cosmetic surgery aims to improve someone's physical appearance and is mainly about improving their self-image or confidence.
Age of Consent
The question of cosmetic (aka aesthetic) surgery in teens can be a sensitive subject. While there are no specific laws in the United States that prevent teenagers from getting cosmetic surgery, parental consent is required for patients under the age of 18. Therefore, the responsibility falls to parents to help their children make the right decision.
