Paula Abdul
Paula Abdul was born in San Fernando Valley, California. She began dancing when she was eight. Van Nuys High School was her high school. She was also the cheerleader of the year and class president for senior year. After graduation 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. The Jacksons recruited her to choreograph the 1984 "Torture" 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 single "Straight Up" was a big hit and she's become a popular singer/dancer for years after. This was made possible by her time on American Idol (2002-2004). Her father, Harry Abdul, is Sephardic Jewish from Syria. Her mother, also Jewish, was born in Ca...