Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul was born in 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 school's head cheerleader as well as the class president. She graduated in 1980 and began college at Cal State Northridge to major in 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 recruited her to choreograph their 1984 film "Torture" which was their first of a series of films and videos she choreographed. The first album she released was "Forever Your Girl", her singing career took off. But the hit single "Straight Up" was a big hit and she's become a popular singer/dancer for years after. This was helped by her appearance on American Idol (2002-2004). Her father, Harry Abdul, is Sephardic Jewish from Syria. Her mother, also Jewish was born and raised in Canada. Her parents were born in Canada, Brazil, Syria and Brazil. The diverse backgrounds have led to very divergent stories in the news 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 dancing and singing since she was 7 years old. older, when she was on an adventure across America. She was enrolled in tap dance classes as well, in which she was awarded a scholarship for the tap dancing school. Later in her life she attended Cal State-Northridge College where she earned a degree in Broadcast radio. In the course of her studies she auditioned for Los Angeles Lakers NBA Cheerleading team. This led her to a spot as a cheerleader on the team, earning $50 a game during her first year of college.