Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul was born in San Fernando Valley, California. She began taking dance lessons when she was eight. Van Nuys High School was where she was president of the senior class and the chief cheerleader. Her graduation was in 1980, and went to college at Cal State Northridge to major 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 hired her to choreograph their 1984 video "Torture" it was the first in a lengthy series of films and videos she choreographed. She began her singing career with her first CD, "Forever Your Girl" with a mediocre sales performance until the single "Straight Up" exploded onto the charts in December 1988 . she has been a popular singer/dancer ever since, enhanced by her appearance as an adjudicator on the popular series American Idol (2002). Her father (Harry Abdul) is from a Sephardic Jewish background from Syria. Her mother, who is also Jewish was born and raised in Canada. Her parents were born in Canada, Brazil, Syria and Brazil. The diverse background has led to different stories in the media regarding her nationality or religion. Born in Hollywood, California to Harry Abdul (another livestock trader from Brazil) & Lorainne Abdul (former assistant of film director Billy Wilder), she began her life. When she was seven years old, she performed in musical theatre groups which traveled across America. She also took tap dancing lessons and earned her a scholarship to a tap dancing school. Later on in her life, she went to Cal State Northridge College where she earned a degree as an Broadcast radio specialist. She was a candidate for the Los Angeles Lakers NBA cheerleading team. The result was earning $50 per game during her freshman year.