Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul was raised in San Fernando Valley. She started taking dance classes at the age of eight. She went to Van Nuys High School, where she was the class head cheerleader and president. Her graduation was in 1980, and started the college process at Cal State Northridge to major 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 hired her to choreograph their 1984 film "Torture" that was the first in a long sequence of videos and movies she would choreograph. With her first CD "Forever Your Girl" and her first solo album, her singing career began to take off. The single "Straight Up" was a big hit and she's been a wildly successful performer/singer ever after. This was helped by her stint on American Idol (2002-2004). Her father (Harry Abdul) is of Sephardic Jewish background from Syria. Her mother is Jewish and was born in Canada. Her parents were from Canada, Syria, Brazil and Syria. This has led to many different stories regarding her nationality and religion within the media. Born in Hollywood, California to Harry Abdul (another livestock trader in Brazil) & Lorainne Abdul (former assistant to director Billy Wilder), she began her life. From the age of seven, she sang and danced in local musical theatre troupes while traveling around America. Tap dancing was also something she learned, and she was awarded a scholarship to tapping classes. She went to Cal State-Northridge College where she majored in Broadcast radio. She auditioned for the Los Angeles Lakers NBA cheerleading team. This led to her earning $50 per game during her freshman year.