Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul was born in San Fernando Valley, California. She started dancing at the age of eight. She attended Van Nuys High School, in which she was a senior class head cheerleader and president. After graduating in 1980, she entered college at Cal State-Northridge with a 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 recruited her to choreograph the 1984 "Torture" video, which was the first of a series of films and videos she would choreograph. With her first CD "Forever Your Girl" and her first solo album, her singing career took off. However, the single "Straight Up" was a huge success and she has been a successful singer/dancer ever after. This is aided by her time on American Idol (2002-2004). Her father (Harry Abdul) is of Sephardic Jewish background from Syria. Her mother is Jewish and was born in Canada. Her parents lived in Canada, Syria, Brazil and Syria. This has led to many different stories about her religion and nationality within the media. Born in Hollywood, California to Harry Abdul (another livestock trader in Brazil) and Lorainne Abdul (former assistant of film director Billy Wilder), she was raised. She's been singing and dancing since she was seven years young, during an adventure across America. She took tap dance lessons also, and she received a scholarship at a the tap dancing school. She attended Cal State Northridge College, where she studied Broadcast radio. In the course of her studies she auditioned for Los Angeles Lakers NBA Cheerleading team. That led her to a spot as a cheerleader on the squad, earning some $50 per game during her freshman year.