Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul grew up in the San Fernando Valley, California. At age eight, she began dancing lessons. Van Nuys High School was her high school. She was also the school's head cheerleader as well as the class president. Following her graduation in 1980 she started the Cal State-Northridge campus, majoring in TV and radio. 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", their first of a series of videos and movies she choreographed. After the release of her debut CD "Forever Your Girl", she began singing and became a popular singer/dancer. Her time as an American Idol judge (2002) has made her an increasingly popular performer/dancer. Her father (Harry Abdul), is Sephardic Jewish and hails from Syria. Her mother is also Jewish and was born in Canada. Her parents are from Canada, Brazil, Syria and Brazil. These diverse backgrounds have led to very diverse stories in the media concerning her country of origin or religious beliefs. 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 singing and dancing since she was 7 years old. older, when she was on an excursion in America. Tap dancing was also something she took, and she was awarded a scholarship to tap dancing school. She was a student at Cal State-Northridge College where she studied Broadcast radio. She was a candidate to be a cheerleader on the Los Angeles Lakers NBA Basketball Cheerleading team.