Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul was born in San Fernando Valley, California. She started dancing at the age of eight. She was a student at Van Nuys High School, where she was the senior class president and head cheerleader. She graduated from high school in the year 1980. After graduation, she began the college process at Cal State Northridge. There she studied radio and television. 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 recruited by The Jacksons to choreograph their 1984 "Torture" video, which was the first in a long list of videos and movies she would choreograph. After the release of her debut CD "Forever Your Girl" started singing, she turned to singing and was soon a well-known artist and performer. The time she spent as an American Idol judge (2002) has made her a popular performer/dancer. Her father (Harry Abdul) is from a Sephardic Jewish background from Syria. Her mother, who is also Jewish, was born and was raised in Canada. Her parents were from Canada, Syria, Brazil and Syria. This has resulted in a variety of stories about her nationality and religion in the media. The daughter of Harry Abdul (once a livestock trader in Brazil) and Lorainne Abdul (former assistant to director Billy Wilder), grew in Hollywood, California. When she was seven, she sung and danced with community musical theatre troupes while traveling throughout America. She also took tap dancing classes, which earned her the opportunity to attend a tap dancing school. Later in her life she attended Cal State Northridge College where she studied to become an Broadcast radio specialist. She applied to be an athlete for the Los Angeles Lakers NBA Basketball Cheerleading team.