Culture

Why Raven-Symone Used to Tan 'Three or Four Times a Week'

Raven Symone arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of "Empire" held at ArcLight Cinemas Cinerama Dome, Jan. 6, 2015, in Hollywood, Calif.
Michael Tran/FilmMagic/Getty Images

January 16, 2015, 4:55 PM

 -- Raven-Symone revealed a shocking habit she had while filming "That's So Raven," her hit Disney series that ended in 2007.

The actress, now 29, used to try to darken her complexion so that she would feel more beautiful.

"When I had my own show, I used to tan three or four times a week in a tanning bed," she says in a new OWN documentary, "Light Girls. "I did."

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The sequel to "Dark Girls," which premieres Monday at 9 p.m. ET/PT, highlights light-skinned African-American women, who detail personal struggles with their skin color. Director Bill Duke also spoke to R&B singer Chante Moore and actress Essence Atkins, among others.

Raven-Symone said she eventually stopped tanning because it was affecting the show's production.

"It's funny, one of the lighting guys came up -- I love him to death. I love him. Oh my goodness -- he goes, 'Raven, I need you to stop tanning. You're getting too dark, and we have to re-light the whole entire show,'" she said. "I was like, 'Sorry. I was just trying to be pretty.'"