Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul (born June 19, 1962, San Fernando, California, U.S.) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, choreographer, and television personality who first gained fame in the 1980s, known for such dance-pop hits as “Forever Your Girl” and “Opposites Attract.” Abdul later served as a judge on a number of TV competition shows, and in the 2000s she helped make American Idol a huge success.

Early life and Laker Girls

Abdul grew up in California’s San Fernando Valley. Inspired by the musical Singin’ in the Rain (1952), she developed an interest in dance at an early age. She took jazz and tap dance lessons, and at age seven she began performing in summer stock theatre. Abdul was a dedicated student, and, while at Van Nuys High School, she served as class president and participated in numerous extracurricular activities. Perhaps most notably, she led the cheerleading squad. She later attended California State University at Northridge, where she studied broadcasting. During her freshman year, Abdul auditioned to be a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA. She won a spot with the Laker Girls, and in a matter of months she became head cheerleader and choreographer of the squad. Abdul eventually left college to devote herself full-time to choreography.

Choreography

Abdul’s talent was initially discovered in 1984 by the Jackson family, whose members included Michael Jackson. They asked her to choreograph the music video for their single “Torture.” That led to work on other videos, including Janet Jackson’s “Nasty” and “What Have You Done for Me Lately” (both 1986). Abdul also established dance moves for ZZ Top, INXS, and George Michael. In addition, she began to choreograph for movies, starting with Private School (1983) and Coming to America (1988) and later working on such popular hits as Jerry Maguire (1996), American Beauty (1999), and Black Knight (2001). In 1989 she earned an Emmy Award for her choreography on The Tracey Ullman Show.

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Music and acting

In the late 1980s Abdul began recording dance music. Her first album, Forever Your Girl (1988), produced four number one singles, including “Straight Up,” “Forever Your Girl,” and “Cold Hearted.” She won a 1990 Grammy Award for her music video for the song “Opposites Attract.” In 1991 she released Spellbound, which featured two more number one singles: “Rush Rush” and “The Promise of a New Day.” Head over Heels (1995), however, failed to match the success of her earlier albums.

Abdul subsequently shifted her focus to acting. By this time she had appeared in a number of films and TV shows, typically as a dancer in small or uncredited parts. In 1997, however, she undertook a dramatic role, portraying a survivor of sexual assault in the TV movie Touched by Evil. The thriller received mixed reviews, and Abdul’s later acting credits were largely guest parts on TV series, including in Spin City and Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

American Idol and later activities

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Abdul carried her television appeal over to her role as a judge on American Idol, which debuted on Fox in 2002 and became one of the most-watched shows in the United States. During her seven years as a judge alongside Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson, she was noted for her respect and concern for the contestants. This often led to confrontations with Cowell, who was more harsh in his assessments. A fourth judge, Kara DioGuardi, was added to the cast in the show’s eighth season. The following season Abdul declined to renew her contract, and she left the show in 2009, though she served as a guest judge on several occasions.

Abdul was involved in numerous other projects. In 2007 she starred in a docuseries about her life, Hey Paula, and four years later she served as a judge on the reality television show The X Factor. More reality series followed, including Dancing with the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, and The Masked Dancer. In addition, Abdul resumed her singing career. In 2016 she embarked on her first tour in some 25 years, as a supporting act for headliner New Kids on the Block. Two years later she staged a solo tour, and from 2019 to 2020 Abdul had a residency show in Las Vegas.

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Personal life

Abdul was married to actor Emilio Estevez from 1992 to 1994. Two years after that relationship ended, she wed Brad Beckerman, a clothing manufacturer. The couple divorced in 1998.