Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul was born in San Fernando Valley, California. When she was 8 years old, old, she began dancing lessons. Van Nuys High School was her high school. She was also the head cheerleader and the senior class president. After graduating in 1980, she enrolled in college at Cal State-Northridge majoring 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. The Jacksons hired her to choreograph their 1984 movie "Torture" that was the first in a long series of films and videos she choreographed. After her debut album "Forever Your Girl" she began to sing and was soon a well-known performer and dancer. Her stint as an American Idol judge (2002) has helped her become more well-known as a performer and dancer. Her father (Harry Abdul) is Sephardic Jewish and hails from Syria. Her mother, who is also Jewish was born in Canada. Her parents are from Canada, Brazil, Syria and Brazil. This diversity of backgrounds have led to very diverse stories in the media concerning her ethnicity or religion. 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 has been dancing and singing since she was just seven years old, while on a tour of America. Tap dance classes were taken and she was awarded a scholarship to tap dancing schools. She went to Cal State-Northridge College where she majored in Broadcast radio. She applied to be an athlete for the Los Angeles Lakers NBA Basketball Cheerleading team.