Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul was raised in San Fernando Valley. At the age of eight, she began learning dance. She attended Van Nuys High School, where she was senior class head cheerleader and president. Her graduation was in 1980, and began the college process 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. She was enlisted by The Jacksons to choreograph their 1984 "Torture" video, the first of a series of films and videos she choreographed. After her debut album "Forever Your Girl" the singer's career began to take off. However, the song "Straight Up" was a huge success and she has become a popular singer/dancer for years after. It was made easier by her appearance on American Idol (2002-2004). Her father (Harry Abdul) is Sephardic Jewish and hails from Syria. Her mother, also Jewish was born in Canada. Her parents have lived in Syria, Brazil, and Canada and this diverse background has resulted in wildly various stories that have been published in the media about her ethnicity or religion. Born in Hollywood, California to Harry Abdul (another livestock trader in Brazil) & Lorainne Abdul (former assistant of film director Billy Wilder), she was raised. At the age of seven, she performed in musical theatre ensembles which toured across America. She also took tap dancing lessons that earned her a scholarship to a tap dancing school. She attended Cal State-Northridge College, where she majored in Broadcast radio. During that time, she auditioned for the Los Angeles Lakers NBA Cheerleading team. That led her to a spot as a cheerleader for the squad, earning some $50 per game during her freshman year.