The Cheetah Girls is a
novel series written by
Deborah Gregory. The series, which began in 1999, is about a female vocal group seeking success and fortune.
Novels
1999
The Cheetah Girls #01: Wishing on a Star
The Cheetah Girls #02: Shop in the Name of Love
The Cheetah Girls #03: Who's 'Bout to Bounce?
The Cheetah Girls #04: Hey, Ho, Hollywood!
2000
The Cheetah Girls #05: Woof, There It Is
The Cheetah Girls #06: It's Raining Benjamins
The Cheetah Girls #07: Dorinda's Secret
The Cheetah Girls #08: Growl Power
2001
The Cheetah Girls #09: Showdown at the Okie-Dokie
The Cheetah Girls #10: Cuchifrita, Ballerina
The Cheetah Girls #11: Dorinda Gets a Groove
The Cheetah Girls #12: In the House With Mouse!
2002
The Cheetah Girls #13: Oops, Doggy Dog!
2003
The Cheetah Girls: Livin' Large! Books #1-#4 (Bind-Up #1)
The Cheetah Girls Supa Dupa Sparkle! Books #5-#8 (Bind-Up #2)
2004
The Cheetah Girls: Growl Power Forever! Books #9-#12 (Bind-Up #3)
The Cheetah Girls: Movie Junior Novel
2005
The Cheetah Girls: Off the Hook! Books #13-#16 (Bind-up #4)
The Cheetah Girls Quiz Book
The Cheetah Girls Supa-Star Scrapbook
The Cheetah Girls: Cheetah Chatter
2006
The Cheetah Girls: Movie Junior Novel 2
XOXO, The Cheetah Girls
Characters
The real-life R&B girl group
Before Dark originally posed as three of the girls on the book covers.
Chanel "Chuchie" Simmons is of
Puerto Rican,
Cuban and
Dominican descent and is noted for her trademark mini-micro braids. Chanel has a flair for designer clothing (notably, she shares the last name of designer
Coco Chanel and the perfume
Chanel) and once charged hundreds of dollars on her mother's credit card. She is fluent in both English and Spanish. She is very body conscious, and developed somewhat of an eating disorder near the end of the book series. She and Galleria took ballet lessons until grade 6. Chanel continues to practice ballet. Her interests include hair and singing. She lives with her mother and brother, Pucci in
SoHo. In the films, she is portrayed by
Adrienne Bailon.
Anginette "Angie" Walker is of
African-American descent, is the only member of the group not to narrate a book in the series, and the only main character cut out of the movie adaptation. She lets her twin sister,
Aquanette Walker, do most of the talking, and is very sneaky. She lives with her sister and father on the
Upper West Side. Her nicknames include "Angie" and "Nettie Two". She loves horror movies, and wants to be a doctor one day. She also loves gospel music. There is no Anginette in the Cheetah Girls films, because Disney couldn't find the right twin girls to play both her and Aqua and they decided to drop Angie from the movies.
Aquanette "Aqua" Walker, Aqua for short and sister Anginette, narrates in the books "Hey, Ho, Hollywood!", "Growl Power!", "In the House with Mouse" and "Twinkle, Twinkle, Cheetah Stars". Her character is also used in
The Cheetah Girls, where she is portrayed by
Kiely Williams, former member of
3LW. She moved from
Houston,
Texas to
New York City with her father when her parents separated. In the books, Aquanette and her sister are known for having the strongest voices in the group. She has a warm personality, and constantly carries
hot sauce in her purse. She and Anginette Walker live on the
Upper West Side. Aqua is very religious, and attends church every Sunday. Unlike her sister, she is aggressive, and speaks her mind when she is unhappy. Her interests include horror movies, animals, and one day becoming a doctor. She has three pets: two guinea pigs and a dog.
Galleria "Bubbles" Garibaldi narrates "Wishing On a Star", "Woof, There it is!", "Showdown at the Okie-Dokie" and "Oops, Doggy Dog!". She is of
Italian and
African-American descent. Galleria is the leader of the band, and lives with her
upper class parents in an apartment on the exclusive
Upper East Side. She is not only the lead singer of the group and co-founder (along with Chanel), but also the most aggressive of the group, and always speaks her mind, a quality which occasionally gets her into trouble with others. She is the writer of all the group's songs. She has a dog named Toto. She is portrayed by
Raven-Symoné in the
Disney Channel Original MoviesThe Cheetah Girls and The Cheetah Girls 2, but she was not portrayed in The Cheetah Girls: One World.
Dorinda "Do" Rogers narrates "Who's Bout To Bounce?", "Dorinda's Secret", "Dorinda Gets a Groove" and "Bring It On!". Dorinda was born to a
Japanese mother and
African-American father. Dorinda describes herself as a scrambled egg due to her racial mixing. Although she is 12 years old, she attends the ninth grade at Fashion Industries High School. She is the smartest of the group, and the best dancer. She is also a
foster child, and lives with ten other children in the housing projects of
Harlem,
New York. She eventually locates her biological sister, Tiffany. In the film, she is the same age as all the other Cheetah Girls. The character appears in the movies as Dorinda Thomas and is portrayed by the Latina American (of European and Mexican descent) actress
Sabrina Bryan.
In the book series, there are five Cheetah Girls, but in the first
film adaption and its
sequel, there are only four, while in the
third film installment, there are only three.