Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul was born in San Fernando Valley, California. When she was eight years old, she began dancing lessons. Van Nuys High School was where she was the senior class president and the chief cheerleader. Her high school graduation was in the year 1980. After graduating she started college at Cal State Northridge. There she was a radio and television major. and TV. 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", the first in a long line of movies and videos she choreographed. After her debut album "Forever Your Girl" she began to sing and soon became 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 from a Sephardic Jewish background from Syria. Her mother is also Jewish and was born in Canada. Her parents were from Canada, Syria, Brazil and Syria. This has led to many different stories about her religion and nationality in the media. Born in Hollywood, California to Harry Abdul (another livestock trader in Brazil) and Lorainne Abdul (former assistant of film director Billy Wilder), she was raised. She's been singing and dancing since she was just seven years old, while on an adventure across America. She took tap dance lessons and she was awarded a scholarship for tap dancing schools. Later in her life she attended Cal State Northridge College where she earned a degree in Broadcast radio. She auditioned for the Los Angeles Lakers NBA cheerleading team. This resulted in her getting paid $50 per match during her freshman year.