Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul was born in San Fernando Valley, California. She started dancing when she was eight. Van Nuys High School was where she was the senior class president and also the head cheerleader. She graduated from high school in 1980. After graduating, she began college at Cal State Northridge. There, she majored in radio and TV. 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. The Jacksons recruited her to choreograph their 1984 film "Torture", their first of many videos and movies she would choreograph. After the release of her debut CD "Forever Your Girl" was released, she began singing and soon became a renowned artist and performer. Her time as an American Idol judge (2002) has helped her become an increasingly popular performer/dancer. Her father (Harry Abdul), is Sephardic Jewish and hails from Syria. Her mother, also Jewish was born in Canada. Her parents were born in Canada, Brazil, Syria and Brazil. The diverse backgrounds have led to very different stories in the media about her religion or nationality. 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 ensembles which traveled across America. Tap dancing was also something she tried, and she was awarded a grant to go to tapping classes. Later in her life, she attended Cal State-Northridge College in which she majored in Broadcast radio. She auditioned for the Los Angeles Lakers NBA cheerleading team. The result was getting paid $50 per match during her freshman year.