Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul was raised in San Fernando Valley. She began taking dance lessons at the age of eight. She attended Van Nuys High School, in which she was a senior class president and head cheerleader. When she graduated in 1980, she began college at Cal State Northridge, 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. She was enlisted by The Jacksons to choreograph their 1984 "Torture" video, the first of a number of films and videos she would choreograph. The first album she released was "Forever Your Girl" the singer's career took off. However, the song "Straight Up" was a huge success and she has been a wildly successful performer/singer ever 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, who is also Jewish was born and raised in Canada. Her parents are from Canada, Brazil, Syria and Brazil. This diversity of backgrounds have resulted in various stories being told in the media concerning her nationality or religion. She is the daughter of Harry Abdul, a former Brazilian livestock trader, and Lorainne Abdul, who was the former assistant to Billy Wilder in film direction. Since the age of seven, she sang and danced in musical theatre groups while traveling around America. She also took tap dancing classes and earned her the opportunity to attend a tap dancing school. She went to Cal State-Northridge College where she studied Broadcast radio. She was a candidate for the Los Angeles Lakers NBA cheerleading team. It led to her earning $50 per game her freshman year.