Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul grew up in the San Fernando Valley, California. She started taking dance classes when she was just eight. She went to Van Nuys High School, where she was the senior class president and head cheerleader. Her graduation was in 1980 and started college at Cal State Northridge to major in radio and television. 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. She was approached by The Jacksons to choreograph their 1984 "Torture" video, which was the first of a number of videos and movies she would choreograph. Her first album "Forever Your Girl" the singer's career began to take off. The single "Straight Up" was a major hit and she's been a successful singer/dancer ever after. This was made possible by her appearance on American Idol (2002-2004). Her father, Harry Abdul, is Sephardic Jewish from Syria. Her mother, too Jewish, was born and raised in Canada. Her parents resided in Canada, Syria, Brazil and Syria. This has resulted in a variety of stories about her nationality and religion in the media. Born in Hollywood, California to Harry Abdul (another livestock trader from Brazil) & Lorainne Abdul (former assistant of film director Billy Wilder), she grew up. When she was seven years old, she sang and danced in musical theatre ensembles that toured throughout America. She took tap dance lessons as well, in which she was awarded a scholarship to tap dancing classes. She went to Cal State-Northridge College where she studied Broadcast radio. She was a candidate for the Los Angeles Lakers NBA cheerleading team. This resulted in her earning $50 per game during her freshman year.