Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul was born in San Fernando Valley, California. When she was eight years older, she began her dancing lessons. Van Nuys High School was her high school. She was also the top cheerleader and the senior class president. She graduated in 1980, and began the college process at Cal State Northridge to major in TV and radio. After joining the L.A. Lakers cheerleaders, she became head cheerleader/choreographer after only a few months, eventually dropping out of college to dance and choreograph full-time. She was approached by The Jacksons to choreograph their 1984 "Torture" video, which was the first in a long list of videos and movies she would choreograph. She began her singing career through her first album, "Forever Your Girl" which was not a huge success until her single "Straight Up" exploded onto the charts in December 1988 . Since then, she's been a household singer/dancer ever since, enhanced by her appearance as an adjudicator on the popular show American Idol (2002). Her father, Harry Abdul, is Sephardic Jewish from Syria. Her mother, who was also Jewish was born in Canada. Her parents have been in Syria, Brazil, and Canada and this diverse background has contributed to incredibly different stories in the press about her nationality and/or religion. The daughter of Harry Abdul (once a livestock trader in Brazil) and Lorainne Abdul (former assistant to director Billy Wilder), grew up in Hollywood, California. At the age of seven, she performed in musical theatre troupes which traveled across America. Tap dancing was another activity she tried, and she received a scholarship to attend tapping classes. She went to Cal State-Northridge College where she majored in Broadcast radio. She auditioned for the Los Angeles Lakers NBA cheerleading team. It led to her earning $50 per game her freshman year.