Going from a series of books about a girl pop band to a series of Disney TV movies about a girl pop band to an actual, touring girl pop band, the Cheetah Girls began as fictional characters in Deborah Gregory's 16 novels for young-adult readers. The series launched in 1999, and its popularity with tween girls convinced Disney to adapt the storyline into a made-for-TV movie in 2003. The film starred former Cosby Show and Hangin' with Mr. Cooper actress/singer Raven-Symoné (also of Disney's Emmy-nominated and NAACP Image Award-winning That's So Raven), singers/actresses Adrienne Bailon and Kiely Williams of the group 3LW, and actress/singer/dancer Sabrina Bryan. Interestingly, some of the models who posed for the cover artwork on the Cheetah Girls books were in another, like-minded group, Before Dark.