Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul grew up in the San Fernando Valley, California. When she was eight years old, she began taking dance classes. Van Nuys High School was her high school. She was also the head cheerleader as well as the class president. When she graduated in 1980, she started the Cal State-Northridge campus, majoring in radio and television. 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" which was their first of many films and videos she would choreograph. With her first CD "Forever Your Girl" and her first solo album, her singing career took off. The single "Straight Up" was a huge success and she has been a successful singer/dancer ever after. This was helped by her appearance on American Idol (2002-2004). Her father (Harry Abdul) is of Sephardic Jewish background from Syria. Her mother, also Jewish was born in Canada. Her parents were residents of Canada, Syria, Brazil and Syria. This has created a myriad of stories about her faith and nationality within the media. The daughter of Harry Abdul (once a livestock trader in Brazil) and Lorainne Abdul (former assistant to director Billy Wilder), grew up in Hollywood, California. At the age of seven, she was a dancer and singer in musical theatre ensembles which traveled across America. Tap dancing was another class she took, and she was awarded a grant to go to tap dancing school. Later in her life she attended Cal State-Northridge College where she earned a degree in Broadcast radio. She auditioned for the Los Angeles Lakers NBA cheerleading team. This led to her earning $50 per game her freshman year.