Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul was raised in San Fernando Valley. At the age of eight, she began taking dance lessons. She was a student at Van Nuys High School, where she was the class president and head cheerleader. After graduating in 1980, she enrolled in college at Cal State Northridge, studying 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 movie "Torture" which was the first in a long line of movies and videos she choreographed. Following her debut album "Forever Your Girl" she began to sing and was soon a well-known singer/dancer. Her time as an American Idol judge (2002) has helped her become a more popular performer/dancer. Her father (Harry Abdul) is of Sephardic Jewish background from Syria. Her mother, also Jewish, was born and was raised in Canada. Her parents were born in Canada, Brazil, Syria and Brazil. This diversity of experiences have led to divergent stories in the news about her religion or nationality. Daughter of Harry Abdul (once a livestock trader in Brazil) and Lorainne Abdul (former assistant to film director Billy Wilder), grew in Hollywood, California. From the age of seven, she sung and danced with community musical theatre groups as she traveled all over America. She also took tap dancing classes and was awarded an award to attend a tap dancing school. She was a student at Cal State-Northridge College where she studied Broadcast radio. She was a candidate for the Los Angeles Lakers NBA cheerleading team. It led to her making $50 per game in her freshman year.