Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul grew up in the San Fernando Valley, California. At the age of eight old, she began dancing lessons. Van Nuys High School was her high school. She was also the 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" the first of many films and videos she choreographed. After the release of her debut CD "Forever Your Girl" she began to sing and was soon a well-known artist and performer. The time she spent as an American Idol judge (2002) has helped her become a popular performer/dancer. Her father, Harry Abdul, is Sephardic Jewish from Syria. Her mother is Jewish and was born in Canada. Her parents have been in Syria, Brazil, and Canada - and this varied background has resulted in wildly numerous stories being reported in the media about her ethnicity or religion. The daughter is Harry Abdul, a former Brazilian livestock trader and Lorainne Abdul, who was a former assistant to Billy Wilder in film direction. She has been singing and dancing since she was 7 years old. old, while on an excursion in America. She also took tap dancing lessons too, which is how she received a scholarship at a the tap dancing school. Later in her life she attended Cal-State-Northridge College where she pursued a degree in Broadcast radio. She was a candidate for the Los Angeles Lakers NBA cheerleading team. This led to her earning $50 per game her freshman year.