Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul was born in San Fernando Valley, California. At eight, she started taking dance classes. She was a student at Van Nuys High School, where she was senior class head cheerleader and president. She graduated from high school in 1980. After graduation she enrolled in the college process at Cal State Northridge. There she was a radio and television major. 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 the 1984 "Torture" video, which was the first of many videos and movies she choreographed. After her debut album "Forever Your Girl" the singer's career took off. But the hit single "Straight Up" was a major hit and she's been a successful singer/dancer ever after. This was made possible by her stint on American Idol (2002-2004). Her father (Harry Abdul), is Sephardic Jewish and hails from Syria. Her mother is Jewish and was born in Canada. Her parents are from Canada, Brazil, Syria and Brazil. These varied background has led to different stories in the media concerning 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 up in Hollywood, California. She has been dancing and singing since she was 7 years old. older, when she was on a tour of America. Tap dancing was also something she tried, and she was awarded a grant to go to tapping classes. Later on in life, she attended Cal State-Northridge College where she pursued a degree in Broadcast radio. In that time, she auditioned for the Los Angeles Lakers NBA Cheerleading team. The audition led her to a spot as a cheerleader on the team. The team earned $50 a game during her freshman year.