Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul was born in San Fernando Valley, California. She started dancing at the age of eight. Van Nuys High School was her high school. She was also the head cheerleader as well as the class president. 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. The Jacksons recruited her to choreograph their 1984 film "Torture", their first of a series of films and videos she choreographed. After her debut album "Forever Your Girl", her singing career took off. But the hit single "Straight Up" was a huge success and she has been a successful dancer/singer ever after. This is aided by her appearance on American Idol (2002-2004). Her father (Harry Abdul) is from a Sephardic Jewish background from Syria. Her mother is Jewish and was born in Canada. Her parents have been in Syria, Brazil, and Canada - and this varied background has contributed to incredibly numerous stories being reported in the media about her ethnicity or religion. 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. She's been singing and dancing since she was 7 years old. older, when she was on the road in America. Tap dancing was also a class she took, and she was awarded a scholarship for tapping classes. Later on in life she attended Cal State-Northridge College in which she majored in Broadcast radio. She auditioned to be a cheerleader on the Los Angeles Lakers NBA Basketball Cheerleading team.