Paula Abdul
Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962)[2] is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreographer for the Laker Girls, where she was discovered by the Jacksons.[3] After choreographing music videos for Janet Jackson, Abdul became a choreographer at the height of the music video era and soon thereafter she was signed to Virgin Records. Her debut studio album Forever Your Girl (1988) became one of the most successful debut albums at that time, selling seven million copies in the United States and setting a record for the most number-one singles from a debut album on the Billboard Hot 100 chart: "Straight Up", "Forever Your Girl", "Cold Hearted", and "Opposites Attract". Her second album Spellbound (1991) scored her two more chart-toppers – "Rush Rush" and "The Promise of a New Day". With six number-one singles on Hot 100, Abdul tied Diana Ross for the third-most chart-toppers among female solo artists at the time.[4]
Paula Abdul
- Singer
- dancer
- choreographer
- actress
- television personality
1978–present
Vocals
Abdul was one of the original judges on the television series American Idol from 2002 to 2009, and has since appeared as a judge on The X Factor, Live to Dance, So You Think You Can Dance, and The Masked Dancer. She received choreography credits in numerous films, including Can't Buy Me Love (1987), The Running Man (1987), Coming to America (1988), Action Jackson (1988), The Doors (1991), Jerry Maguire (1996), and American Beauty (1999). She received 17 MTV Video Music Award nominations, winning five, as well as receiving the Grammy Award for Best Music Video for "Opposites Attract" in 1991. She received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography twice for her work on The Tracey Ullman Show, and her own performance at the American Music Awards in 1990. Abdul was honored with her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and is the first entertainer to be honored with the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards' Hall of Fame Award.
Early life
Abdul was born in San Fernando, California. She is Jewish:[5] her father, Harry Abdul, is of Syrian Jewish heritage and was born in Aleppo, Syria, raised in Brazil and emigrated to the United States.[6] Her mother, Lorraine (Rykiss), was a concert pianist of Jewish heritage, from Minnedosa, Manitoba.[7][8][9] Abdul has an older sister named Wendy.[10] As an avid dancer, Abdul was inspired towards a show business career by Gene Kelly in the film Singin' in the Rain.[11]
Abdul began taking dance lessons at an early age in ballet, jazz, and tap. She attended Van Nuys High School, where she was a cheerleader and an honor student.[12] At 15, she received a scholarship to a dance camp near Palm Springs, and in 1978, appeared in a low-budget independent musical film, Junior High School. In 1980, she graduated from Van Nuys High School.[12] Abdul studied broadcasting at the California State University, Northridge. During her freshman year, she was selected from a pool of 700 candidates for the cheerleading squad of the Los Angeles Lakers NBA basketball team—the famed Laker Girls. Within a year, she became head choreographer.[13] She remained with the Laker Girls until 1986.[14]
Career
1982–1986: Career beginnings
Abdul was discovered by the Jacksons, after a few of the band members had watched her while attending a Los Angeles Lakers game.[15] She was signed to do the choreography for the video to their single "Torture".[16][14] Abdul recalled feeling intimidated by having to tell the Jacksons how to dance, stating that she was "not quite sure how [she] got through that."[17] The success of the choreography in the video led to Abdul's career as choreographer of music videos, notably Janet Jackson's "What Have You Done for Me Lately", "Nasty", "When I Think of You" and "Control" videos.[18] It was also due to the success of the video that Abdul was chosen to be the choreographer for the Jacksons' Victory tour.[11][18] Abdul also choreographed sequences for the giant keyboard scene involving Tom Hanks's character in Big (1988).[19][20]
Personal life
Relationships
Abdul married actor Emilio Estevez in 1992, and divorced him in 1994.[102][103] In 1995, Abdul stated that the reason for their divorce was that she wanted children and Estevez, who had two children from a previous relationship, did not.[104] Abdul married clothing designer Brad Beckerman in 1996, at the New England Carousel Museum in Bristol, Connecticut. They filed for divorce in 1998, after 17 months of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences.[105]
Beliefs
Abdul is observant in her Jewish faith,[106] and is proud of her heritage. She once stated, "My father is a Syrian Jew whose family immigrated to Brazil. My mother is Canadian with Jewish roots. My dream is to go to Israel for a real holiday." In November 2006, when Israeli Tourism Minister Isaac Herzog invited her to Israel, Abdul responded with a hug, adding, "I will come; you have helped me make a dream come true."[107] In 2013, at the age of 51, Abdul had her bat mitzvah in Safed, Israel, at the International Center for Tzfat Kabbalah,[108] a museum and spiritual retreat for the study of Kabbalah – Jewish mysticism. In 2003, Abdul was reported as a practitioner of Transcendental Meditation.[109]
Abdul is a dog lover who raised awareness about National Guide Dog Month in May 2009, and she teamed up with Dick Van Patten to help people with blindness to have more independence through the help of guide dogs.[110] She does not wear real fur.[111]
Health
Abdul has said that she was injured in a plane crash in 1992 during her Under My Spell Tour, necessitating 15 cervical surgeries. When, in 2020, some gossip sites, including Jezebel, questioned the veracity of this, Abdul responded during an interview with Yahoo Entertainment, stating "You know what? It's like, there are seven other people that were on the plane, who were in that plane accident with me. So, I really don't care what people have to say. I don't."[112]
In 1994, Abdul sought treatment for bulimia nervosa, which she revealed years later she first developed as a teenager and only intensified after she became a pop star. She said: "I learned at a very early age I didn't fit in physically. I learned through years of rejections from auditions. I would ask myself, 'Why can't I be tall and skinny like the other dancers?' I felt nervous and out of control, and all I could think about was food. Food numbed the fear and anxiety. I'd eat and then run to the bathroom."[41]
In 2005, Abdul said she had been diagnosed in November 2004 with a neurological disorder causing chronic pain, reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), following a "cheerleading accident" at age 17.[113] She discussed the diagnosis in response to allegations of drug use.[113]
In April 2006, Abdul filed a report at a Hollywood police station stating she had been a victim of battery at a private party at about 1 am on April 2, according to LAPD spokesman Lt. Paul Vernon.[114] "According to Abdul, the man at the party argued with her, grabbed her by the arm and threw her against a wall," Vernon said. "She said she had sustained a concussion and spinal injuries."[115]
Headlining
Co-headlining
Residency
