Paula Julie Abdul aka Paula biography

Real biography: Whether she’s singing, dancing, or denying affairs, Paula Abdul always seems to come up aces. From Laker Girl to American Idol, from pop diva to poppin’ pills, she’s slurring her words all the way to the bank.

Born in San Fernando, CA, her father is from Syria and her mother is from Canada. Both are Jewish and Paula was raised as such. Inspired by the films of Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire, she began taking dance lessons and eventually became involved in cheerleading. While in college she tried out for and made the Laker Girls and it wasn’t long before she was the head choreographer. She quickly became one of the most sought after choreographers in the world, arranging the dance sequences for a number of films including Action Jackson (Vanity), Jerry MaGuire (Kelly Preston), and American Beauty (Thora Birch, Mena Suvari). She also choreographed the famous scene in Big with Tom Hanks and Robert Loggia on the giant keybord and has worked with dozens of musicians such as Janet Jackson, Debbie Gibson and Dolly Parton.

In 1988 she released her own album, Forever Your Girl. It took 62 weeks, but it eventually climbed to number 1 on the charts where it remained for 10 weeks. Her follow up album Spellbound also went to number 1 and sold more than 13 million copies world wide. It was around this time that she sought treatment for bulimia and low self esteem. Bulimia is the one where you eat like a normal person then ram your finger down your throat to puke it back up like a crazy person.

She released a less successful third album in 1995 then took a much needed break from the entertainment industry. In 2002 she joined a British dude and the bass player from Journey as the hosts of a new version of the gong show called American Idol (Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken). With her career back on track, Paula has been taking full advantage. Her line of jewelry has been extremely successful and she now has her own reality show called “Hey Paula.”