Paula Abdul

Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) 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. 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.

Abdul's 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 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles from a debut album: "Straight Up", "Forever Your Girl", "Cold Hearted", and "Opposites Attract". Her second album, Spellbound (1991), scored the number-one singles "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. As of 2025, Abdul places seventh along with Diana Ross and Lady Gaga for the most number-one singles by female artists in the U.S. to date.

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 and is Jewish. Her father, Harry Abdul, is of Syrian Jewish heritage and was born in Aleppo, Syria, raised in Brazil and emigrated to the United States. Her mother, Lorraine (Rykiss), was a concert pianist of Jewish origin, from Minnedosa, Manitoba, Canada. Abdul has an older sister named Wendy. As an avid dancer, Abdul was inspired towards a show business career by Gene Kelly in the film Singin' in the Rain.

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. 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. 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. She remained with the Laker Girls until 1986.

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. She was signed to do the choreography for the video to their single "Torture". 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." 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. It was also due to the success of the video that Abdul was chosen to be the choreographer for the Jacksons' Victory tour. Abdul also choreographed sequences for the giant keyboard scene involving Tom Hanks's character in Big (1988).

1987–1999: Forever Your Girl, Spellbound and Head over Heels

In 1987, Abdul used her savings to make a singing demo. Soon thereafter, she was signed to the newly formed Virgin Records America by Jeff Ayeroff, who had worked in marketing at A&M Records with Janet Jackson. Although she was a skilled dancer and choreographer, Abdul was a relatively untrained singer, and worked with various coaches and record producers to develop her vocal ability. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Ayeroff recalled signing Abdul to a recording contract years later, stating: "She said, 'I can sing, you know. I want to do an album.' Paula's in our industry. Here's someone with a personality and she's gorgeous, and she can dance. If she can sing, she could be a star. So she went into the studio and cut a demo record and she could sing."

Abdul's debut studio album, Forever Your Girl (1988), would become the most successful debut album in history at that time, reaching number one on the Billboard 200 chart after 64 weeks (where it would spend 10 weeks at number one), and set a record for the most singles from a debut album to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States, with four: "Straight Up", "Forever Your Girl", "Cold Hearted", and "Opposites Attract". The album was later certified 7× platinum by the RIAA. A remix album, Shut Up and Dance: Mixes, was also released and reached number seven in the United States, becoming one of the most successful remix albums to date. At the 32nd Grammy Awards, Abdul won her first Grammy for Best Music Video for "Opposites Attract". She was also nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Straight Up", but lost to Bonnie Raitt's "Nick of Time". In 1991, singer Yvette Marine filed a lawsuit against Virgin Records (Abdul was not named directly in the suit), alleging that her lead guide vocal tracks were combined with Abdul's and passed off as one voice on at least two songs from Forever Your Girl, most notably "Opposites Attract". A jury sided with Abdul and the label two years later in 1993, rejecting Marine's claim to credit and copyright compensation.

Abdul saw continued success with her second studio album Spellbound (1991), which saw two additional number-one singles: "Rush Rush" and "The Promise of a New Day". A third single "Blowing Kisses in the Wind" reached number six for three consecutive weeks. Spellbound retained the dance-pop sound from Forever Your Girl and introduced elements of R&B, and sold 7 million copies worldwide. The music video for "Rush Rush" featured a Rebel Without a Cause motif, starring Keanu Reeves in the James Dean role. The album's other singles, "Vibeology" and "Will You Marry Me?", saw moderate success on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching the top 20. In 1991, Abdul starred in a popular Diet Coke commercial in which she danced with a digital image of her idol, a young Gene Kelly. Abdul was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in December 1991. Abdul promoted Spellbound through the Under My Spell Tour, which was named by an MTV contest for fans. The tour was nearly cancelled due to an accident during rehearsals, but began on schedule in October 1991 and concluded in August 1992.