Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul was raised in San Fernando Valley. At eight, she started dancing lessons. Van Nuys High School was her high school. She was also the school's head cheerleader and class president for senior year. She graduated from high school in 1980. After graduating she enrolled in college at Cal State Northridge. There she studied 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. She was recruited by The Jacksons to choreograph their 1984 "Torture" video, which was the first of a series of films and videos she choreographed. She began singing with her first CD, "Forever Your Girl", which had lackluster sales until her single "Straight Up" exploded onto the charts in December 1988 . she's been a well-known singer/dancer ever since, enhanced by her time as a judge on the hit series American Idol (2002). Her father, Harry Abdul, is Sephardic Jewish from Syria. Her mother, who is also Jewish, was born and raised in Canada. Her parents are from Canada, Brazil, Syria and Brazil. These diverse backgrounds have resulted in various stories being told in the media concerning her nationality or religion. Born in Hollywood, California to Harry Abdul (another livestock trader from Brazil) & Lorainne Abdul (former assistant to director Billy Wilder), she was raised. She's been dancing and singing since she was seven years older, when she was on an adventure across America. Tap dancing was another activity she attempted, and was awarded a scholarship to the school of tap dancing. Later on in life she attended Cal State Northridge College where she pursued a degree in Broadcast radio. In that time she was a candidate for the Los Angeles Lakers NBA Cheerleading team. The audition resulted in her being selected as a cheerleader for the squad, earning some fifty dollars per game during her freshman year.