Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul was born in San Fernando Valley, California. At eight, she started taking dance lessons. Van Nuys High School was where she was the class president and the chief cheerleader. Her graduation was in 1980 and entered college 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 of a series of movies and videos she choreographed. After her debut CD "Forever Your Girl", she began singing and soon became a renowned performer and dancer. Her stint as an American Idol judge (2002) has made her a more popular performer/dancer. Her father, Harry Abdul, is Sephardic Jewish from Syria. Her mother is also Jewish and was born in Canada. Her parents have lived in Syria, Brazil, and Canada - and this varied background has resulted in wildly numerous stories being reported in the media regarding her religion and/or nationality. Born in Hollywood, California to Harry Abdul (another livestock trader from Brazil) & Lorainne Abdul (former assistant to film director Billy Wilder), she grew up. From the age of seven, she sang and danced in musical theatre groups while traveling all over America. She also took tap dancing lessons and earned her the chance to attend a dancing school. She went to Cal State-Northridge College where she majored in Broadcast radio. In the course of her studies she auditioned for the Los Angeles Lakers NBA Cheerleading team, and that led to her getting a spot as a cheerleader on the squad, earning some fifty dollars per game during her freshman year.