Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul grew up in the San Fernando Valley, California. When she was eight years old, she began dancing lessons. Van Nuys High School was where she was the class president and the chief cheerleader. She graduated from high school in the year 1980. Following graduation she entered the college process at Cal State Northridge. There she majored 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 the 1984 "Torture", their first of a series of films and videos she would choreograph. The first album she released was "Forever Your Girl" Her singing career took off. But the hit single "Straight Up" was a major hit and she's become a popular singer/dancer for years after. It was made easier by her stint on American Idol (2002-2004). Her father, Harry Abdul, is Sephardic Jewish from Syria. Her mother is also Jewish and was born in Canada. Her parents resided in Canada, Syria, Brazil and Syria. This is the reason for a myriad of stories regarding her nationality and religion within the media. She is the daughter of Harry Abdul, a former Brazil-based livestock trader, as well as Lorainne Abdul, who was an assistant to Billy Wilder in film direction. She has been singing and dancing since she was just seven years young, during an excursion in America. Tap dancing was another class she tried, and she was awarded a scholarship to the school of tap dancing. She was a student at Cal State-Northridge College where she studied Broadcast radio. During that time, she auditioned for the Los Angeles Lakers NBA Cheerleading team. The audition led her to a spot as a cheerleader on the squad, earning some 50 dollars per game in her first year of college.