Character

Olivia Kendall

Olivia Kendall in The Cosby Show (1984), played by Raven-Symoné.

A small girl with a big personality, Olivia arrives in the Huxtable household as a young cousin figure who quickly makes herself at home. She's curious, stubborn, and utterly unbothered by the adults around her, prone to blunt observations and sudden opinions that stop grown-up conversations cold.

The writing trusts a very young performer with real comic timing rather than cute-kid filler, and Raven-Symoné delivers lines with a deadpan confidence that outpaces actors decades older. Olivia works because she's never precious — she's funny on her own terms, and the show lets her be a person instead of a prop.

Played by

Appears in

The Cosby Show1984