Paula Abdul
Paula Abdul was raised in San Fernando Valley. She started dancing when she was eight. She was a student at Van Nuys High School, where she was senior class president and head cheerleader. After graduating in 1980, she began college at Cal State-Northridge, studying radio 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 movie "Torture" that was the first in a lengthy series of movies and video she choreographed. She started singing with her first CD, "Forever Your Girl" with a mediocre sales performance until her hit single "Straight Up" exploded onto the charts in December of 1988. she has been a renowned dancer ever since, aided by her stint as an adjudicator on the popular show American Idol (2002). Her father (Harry Abdul) is Sephardic Jewish and hails from Syria. H...