Paula abdul biography born
Paula Abdul
Paula Abdul facts for kids
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. 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. 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 p Never before has there been an artist who has been equally recognized, awarded and celebrated "in front of the camera" as well as "behind the camera." Choreographing Janet Jackson In films she has served as choreographer for Patrick Dempsey in Can’t Buy Me Love, she transformed Val Kilmer into the iconic Jim Morrison in The Doors, choreographed the memorable African wedding dance scene with Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall in Coming to America, was the choreographer for Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Running Man, and was able to re-team with her mentor James L. Brooks, who took Paula under his wing at The Tracy Ullman Show transitioning her into the world of choreographing for TV and film, for the Oscar winning performance of Cuba Gooding Jr. in Jerry Maguire. American singer and entertainer (born 1962) 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. 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. 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 Ch American Pop singer, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality.
Paula Abdul is a ground-breaking choreographer, dancer, songwriter, performer, designer, actor and business woman.
She is a two-time Emmy Award winner, Grammy Award winner, American Music Award winner, and multi-platinum recording artist who has been entertaining her fans for over 30 years.
Her work as choreographer includes her Emmy winning contributions to The Tracey Ullman Show, produced by the Oscar and Emmy Award winner James L. Brooks.
Shortly thereafter, Paula Abdul was double nominated for her ground-breaking choreography for the 62nd Annual Academy Awards and her own performance on the American Music Awards, for which she won an Emmy.
She won seven MTV Awards for her work with Janet Jackson and has also choreographed for Duran Duran, ZZ top, The Jackson Family, George Michael, Luther Vandross, INXS, Heart and Prince.
Paula became a worldwide singing sensation with her first album Forever Your Girl, followed by an astonishing six number 1 singles.
And, only until a few months ago, after being bumped to number 3 by Adele, Paula’s “Forever Your Girl” reigned as the second longest charting album on the Billboar Paula Abdul