Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul was raised in San Fernando Valley. At eight, she started taking dance classes. Van Nuys High School was her high school. She was also the top cheerleader and the senior class president. After graduation in 1980, she started college at Cal State-Northridge, with a 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 hired her to choreograph their 1984 video "Torture" it was the first in a lengthy series of films and videos she choreographed. She started singing through her first album, "Forever Your Girl" that had a lackluster success until her single "Straight Up" exploded onto the charts in December of 1988. she's been a household artist and singer ever since. This was made even more popular by her stint as judge on the cult show American Idol (2002). Her father, Harry Abdul, is Sephardic Jewish from Syria. Her mother is Jewish and was born in Canada. Her parents were residents of Canada, Syria, Brazil and Syria. This has led to many different stories about her faith and nationality in the media. The daughter of Harry Abdul (once a livestock trader in Brazil) and Lorainne Abdul (former assistant to film director Billy Wilder), grew in Hollywood, California. When she was seven years old, she danced and sang in musical theatre companies that toured throughout America. She also took tap dancing classes that earned her the opportunity to attend a tap dancing school. Later on in her life, she attended Cal State Northridge College where she studied to become a Broadcast radio specialist. She auditioned for the Los Angeles Lakers NBA cheerleading team. The result was earning $50 per game during her freshman year.