Paula Abdul
Paula Abdul was raised in San Fernando Valley. She began taking dance lessons when she was eight. She was a student at Van Nuys High School, where she was the senior class president and head cheerleader. Her high school graduation was in the year 1980. After graduation she enrolled in college at Cal State Northridge. There she studied 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" the first of many films and videos she would choreograph. After her debut CD "Forever Your Girl" she began to sing and became a popular artist and performer. The stint she held as an American Idol judge (2002) has made her an increasingly popular performer/dancer. Her father (Harry Abdul) is from a Sephardic Jewish background from Syria. Her mother, who is also Jewish was bor