Today we’d like to introduce you to Raven Diaz
Hi Raven, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
– [ ] I was born and raised in Orlando, FL. West Orlando to be exact. I grew up the youngest out of three siblings. My mother was a very strong & independent, single mother who worked a lot throughout my childhood. As soon as I was able to walk & talk, I immediately enjoyed entertaining others & at times was a handful of energy. I came from a family where we always knew how to make anything funny, even in tough situations. At around 6 years old, I knew I had a passion for dancing & wanted to take it further. However, at that time, my mother didn’t have the right resources nor time to really be able to invest in my craft. As I got older my mother’s primary focus was to make sure I stayed out of trouble & get the best education possible. I attended Windy Ridge magnet middle school in Windermere, FL. When choosing elective classes, I chose drama/theatre. I thought this would be a perfect way to start preparing for what I truly wanted to do which was to act,dance & entertain. I instantly fell in love with the whole process. I was extremely successful in theatre, but begged my mother to enroll me into dance classes immediately. She then enrolled me into ballet, jazz, hip hop & tap classes. I attended Columbus Dance Center Academy owned & ran by Becky Columbus. She was extremely strict and her teaching style took some adjusting but I then learned it was all for great reason. She believed in me due to my energy, ability to learn fast, charisma & most importantly: talent. She saw that I had talent and pushed me to work extremely hard because she knew my passion and ability to dance. My technique got better and better every day & I quickly moved up in dance ranking. Once middle school was over, I decided to audition for Dr Phillips High-school Dance magnet. I successfully made the dance magnet program & attended Dr Phillips high school for two years. Due to being apart of the magnet program, maintaining a certain GPA was the upmost important thing in order to stay apart of the program. I was extremely distracted by so much happening in my personal life at home, that I began to lose passion for dancing & school. I then was removed from DP due to my GPA at the time to attend my home school which was Olympia High School in Windermere, FL. Instantly I did fall into a depression and started not caring about dancing as much as I should have & ended up quitting just in general. I didn’t really care about school or dancing. I only cared about working and making money at the time. I had two jobs at the time while in high school & wanted as much money as possible. Around 17 years old I pretty much was independent & could not wait to turn 18 to really start living my adult life. Once high school was completed, I immediately got into working in sales, & did extremely well. At just 18 I was averaging on 60-80k yearly (which at the time that was amazing). Three years into my sales career, I planned on never leaving my sales role. Until the company completely relocated forcing me into finding new employment. I tried working at different places but nothing really fit for me as much as sales did. I knew it was time for something different. As random & crazy as it sounds, i missed dancing. I did not dance for years up until that point. It was a big trend to see a lot of my peers get into night life entertainment & exotic dancing. I decided to give it a try. Never in a million years did I ever see myself being apart of nightlife entertainment. However my first night, I made my rent money in one night & never looked back. I didn’t want to just depend on working in the club to make money, I needed more than one income. I started working in healthcare. I became a patient care coordinator for terminal ill patients & enjoyed working in the healthcare field since it promoted stability& helping others. I decided to work healthcare during the day and dancing at night at the club. I literally was living two lives at once. Surprisingly dancing in a night club brought me so much more opportunities than I ever expected it to. Before you knew it I was meeting certain celebrities, public figures, networking & so much more. I knew& felt like I was headed in the right direction for something bigger. I then stumbled upon a show on Zeus Network titled “Joseline’s Cabaret”. At this time period in my life, I was beyond a reality tv show junkie. I enjoyed every part of reality tv & saw myself doing it one day. I then noticed that the show listed auditions for the third season & felt like maybe auditioning would be the best next move for myself. I loved the concept of the show. Which pretty much was to be more of an entertainer than a dancer. I enjoyed the cabaret because it was like a mixture of burlesque but sexier yet not so revealing. At this point I wanted more for myself than exotic dancing. I wanted to be in the entertainment industry & this could be a start. I auditioned for the show with my bestfriend and waited for weeks to get a call back. While at work one day, I received the call from my best-friend literally crying on the phone & I wasn’t sure as to why until she told me we got selected to be apart of the show. I was elated. The network interviewed us, loved us & wanted to proceed moving forward working with us for Season 3 of Joseline’s Cabaret: Vegas. As surreal as it was, I knew that I was ready to finally take the next step in my life moving forward. Once filming wrapped up & the show started airing,my life changed . Slightly overwhelmed but excited with this newfound stardom, I was full of gratitude. I finally was doing something i enjoyed & being able to share my talent with others. My life changed so fast. Moving forward I was selected for another season to film ,”Joseline’s Cabaret: New York Season Four”. The season began filming June 2023 & took a turn for the worst after having a disagreement with my boss on camera at the time. This moment went viral and was completely embarrassing for me to even grasp, causing me to depart by choice from the show. Months & months after our disagreement, my boss and I then reconciled. Although I never completed season 4, I was asked to come back to film the new season. I instantly thought to myself, “this would be an amazing opportunity to redeem myself & show people who I truly am”. I started filming Summer of 2024 & it was by far the biggest season yet. After a successful season, I decided to move forward with pursing other endeavors. I am still wanting to work in the entertainment industry, however I want to get more into serious acting roles and it has always been a dream of mine. Currently I have been booked and busy with certain gigs & roles that I have been taking on. In my personal life and personal goals, I hope to pursue a career in real estate investing, nursing & acting. I would love to go back to school this year & see where that will take me. As of now I just hope to inspire many young women to truly just go after what you want in life and to make the best choices responsibly. I am just a girl from West Orlando who had a dream & made it reality.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
In my younger life, my family did not come from much. My mother often struggled to take care of my siblings & myself but made it work. Seeing that growing up made me want to go harder for myself & to be successful as much as I possibly can. As of now, the only obstacle and challenges I have really experienced lately is from internet trolls. (Laughs) It comes with the territory with being on TV. Everyone has a opinion. Good or bad. I just ignore it.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I specialize in being a TV personality. I am best known for my dancing & being a fan favorite for the past three seasons on Joselines Cabaret which is only aired on Zeus Network. I do feel like this is my biggest accomplishment to date. However being able to make it to the big screen is truly the next step for me. I’ve been trying to make sure I still keep my momentum with remaining in the scene & want to take my talents further. I am humbly honest is the most way & extremely hardworking. However, I’ve been told my energy and charisma is what separates me from others.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I love everything about Orlando. From the weather, food & nightlife. I love how Orlando is just a big melting pot of different people. It’s always exciting. I love my city so theres not much negative to say.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Ravendiaz.com
- Instagram: Iamravendiaz
- Twitter: Iamravendiazz
Image Credits
Fashion Stylist: Courtney Carson (@courtxcarson)
Hair: Andrew Jimenez (@andrewzaddyyy)
Photographer: Mike Frost (@shotsbyfrost)
Makeup: @barbiefacebakery
