Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul was raised in San Fernando Valley. At the age of eight, she began taking dance classes. Van Nuys High School was her high school. She was also the top cheerleader and senior class president. She graduated 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. The Jacksons recruited her to choreograph the 1984 "Torture" which was their first of many videos and movies she choreographed. After her debut album "Forever Your Girl", her singing career began to take off. However, the single "Straight Up" was a massive success and she has been a wildly successful performer/singer ever after. This is aided by her stint on American Idol (2002-2004). Her father (Harry Abdul), is Sephardic Jewish and hails from Syria. Her mother is Jewish and was born in Canada. Her parents were residents of Canada, Syria, Brazil and Syria. This is the reason for a myriad of stories about her religion and nationality within the media. Born in Hollywood, California to Harry Abdul (another livestock trader from Brazil) & Lorainne Abdul (former assistant of film director Billy Wilder), she began her life. From the age of seven she sang and danced in musical theatre troupes which toured across America. She also took tap dancing lessons and earned her the chance to attend a dancing school. She was a student at Cal State-Northridge College where she majored in Broadcast radio. She auditioned for the Los Angeles Lakers NBA cheerleading team. This resulted in her earning $50 per game during her freshman year.