Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul was raised in San Fernando Valley. At age eight, she began learning dance. Van Nuys High School was her high school. She was also the top cheerleader and senior class president. Her high school graduation was in 1980. After graduation, she began college at Cal State Northridge. There, she majored 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 their 1984 film "Torture" the first of many videos and movies she choreographed. Following her debut album "Forever Your Girl" was released, she began singing and soon became a well-known artist and performer. Her time as an American Idol judge (2002) has made her a popular performer/dancer. Her father, Harry Abdul, is Sephardic Jewish from Syria. Her mother, also Jewish, was born and raised in Canada. Her parents were from Canada, Syria, Brazil and Syria. This is the reason for a myriad of stories about her religion and nationality within the media. She is the daughter of Harry Abdul, a former Brazilian livestock trader, and Lorainne Abdul, who was an assistant to Billy Wilder in film direction. When she was seven, she sung and danced in local musical theatre groups as she traveled across America. She also attended tap dancing classes, which earned her an award to attend a tap dancing school. In the future she attended Cal State Northridge College where she earned a degree in Broadcast radio. In the course of her studies, she auditioned for the Los Angeles Lakers NBA Cheerleading team. The audition resulted in her being selected as a cheerleader for the team. The team earned fifty dollars per game during her first year of college.