Paula abdul who is she

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. 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.

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. Paula became a worldwide singing sensation with her first album Forever Your Girl, followed by an astonishing six number 1 singles.

Paula Abdul is also very active in her community, being a spokesperson for national charity organizations such as the American Humane's Pets and Women's Shelters PAWS Program, the foundations of Natural Balance Pet Food and Petco which raises critically needed money for non-profit guide dog schools throughout the country. Paula is also a spokesperson for the National Eating Disorders Association. Paula courageously speaks out about her own past battles , in hopes of encouraging young women to take the scary, but necessary, steps to seek help.

Alongside the Avon Foundation, Abdul directed, produced, choreographed and starred in the campaign , which garnered half a billion media impressions around the world. The cause is personal to Paula. Her sister Wendy is a breast cancer survivor. In Paula was seen as a judge on Season 12 of the U. Paula Abdul went on a nationwide tour with Boyz II Men and The New Kids on the Block in performing her hit songs for millions of fans in packed arenas across the country.

In to celebrate the 30th anniversary of her "Forever Your Girl" album , Paula returned to the stage for her first solo tour in 25 years with the Straight Up Paula! In Paula Abdul performed a medley of her greatest hits at the Billboard Music Awards which garnered wild excitement from a celebrity-packed audience and rave reviews online.

Her parents are Harry and Lorraine Abdul. She has a sister named Wendy, who is seven years her senior. Her parents are both Jewish. Her father once a livestock trader and later the owner of a sand and gravel business was born into a Syrian Jewish community in Aleppo, Syria, was raised in Brazil, and immigrated to the United States.

Her mother a concert pianist for a short time and former assistant to film director Billy Wilder grew up in Manitoba in Canada, and has Ashkenazi Jewish ancestors from Russia and Ukraine. Her parents divorced when she was seven years old. Paula was inspired at an early age by the film 'Singing In The Rain', and as a young girl her ultimate ambition was to be a successful dancer like her idol Gene Kelly. Subsequently, Abdul began taking dance lessons at an early age in ballet, Jazz, and Tap and she impressed her teachers with her natural ability to dance.

Growing up in North Hollywood, CA at age seven she performed in community theater groups, spent summers touring in US theatrical productions and begun studying jazz and tap dance techniques from age ten, to end up winning a scholarship to study under Joe Tramie at the prestigious Bella Lewitzky Dance Company.

Paula attended Van Nuys High School, where she was a cheerleader and an honor student. Following graduation from high school in , Paula Abdul appeared on the small screen in the low-budget Independent movie-musical 'Junior High School'. At California State University at Northridge, Abdul majored in broadcasting with hopes of becoming a sports broadcaster.

Her career path would change once she auditioned for the Los Angeles Laker Girls. Abdul was discovered by The Jacksons , after a few of the band members had watched her while attending a Los Angeles Lakers game. She signed-on to choreograph the video to their single "Torture". The success of the choreography in the video paved the way for Abdul's career of choreographer in music videos. Paula quickly becomes recognized as one of the most talented up-and-coming choreographers in Hollywood and is credited with the choreography of the films 'Private School' and 'Coming To America' the smash hit comedy starring Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall.

Janet complimented Paula on her singing and encourages her to pursue a career in the music business. In , Paula used her savings to form a girl group and quietly records a demo with three of her friends. Their group was called the 'Cheer Girls. Motown didn't think the group had what it took to be successful because, at the time, girl bands were thought to be unpopular. Label Executives who were busy launching the new Virgin Records America heard about Paula and invited her to dinner to discuss the 'Cheer Girls' demo.

They liked the demo but decided they wanted to hear Paula sing solo. Just as Motown Executives had said, Virgin didn't think girl bands had what it takes to be popular. They asked Paula to go back into the studio — this time alone to record the song. She did as they requested and days later Virgin Records signed her onto their label.

Label Executives informed Paula she would have to work quickly preparing the album because they wanted it ready for a summer release. She would record the album at night, working on choreography projects during the day. The completed album would be called "Forever Your Girl. Reid and Daryl Simmons.

The song was originally included on a Virgin Records sampler for the launch of Virgin Records America. In the spring of "Knocked Out" was released as a single to test Abdul's commercial appeal. It proved to be very successful for a low budget single. The song stalled at 88 on the Billboard Hot Both songs received radio airplay, but neither managed to reach the Top 40 charts.

This time, it became a huge success, peaking at 3 on the Billboard Hot on December 2, In the late summer of , without having a hit, it seemed as if the "Forever Your Girl" album was a flop. Another week and they might have got rid of her. The album eventually became multi-platinum in the spring and summer of , and it spawned five American Top Three singles, four of them No.

A remix album, Shut Up and Dance , was also released and peaked at No. After one month of court proceedings, Abdul and Virgin won the case. Abdul's follow-up album to "Forever Your Girl", was 's "Spellbound" which contained another string of hits, and sold over 7 million copies worldwide.

The first single from Spellbound was the ballad, "Rush Rush," which topped the Billboard Hot chart for five consecutive weeks, and featured a music video themed after the movie Rebel Without a Cause and starred Keanu Reeves in the James Dean role.

This tour was nearly cancelled due to an accident during rehearsals. The world tour began on schedule and ran from October to the summer of In , Abdul embraced advertising and starred in a popular Diet Coke commercial in which she danced with a digital image of her idol, a young Gene Kelly.

Paula continued to make headlines with her highly publicized marriage to Emilo Estevez—they married on April 29th, That same year Paula confessed to suffering from bulimia, an eating disorder, and checked herself into a clinic. She divorced Emilo Estevez in May , citing irreconcilable differences, although they remain friendly to this day. Paula began recording songs for her third studio album in By , Paula Abdul had recovered from her battle with the eating disorder bulimia and prepared to return to the spotlight with her new album "Head Over Heels," a bold departure from her first two studio albums.

The album had managed to sell just under 3 million copies worldwide, her lowest selling studio album in terms of international sales in her career. After the relative failure of the album, Abdul left the music scene. In October Paula engaged and married Brad Beckerman, heir to the clothing giant, Starter, in a whirlwind romance after they were set up on a blind date by a mutual friend. They divorced just seventeen months later citing irreconcilable differences. Unfortunately, due to corporate restructuring Abdul was dropped for the label before she could complete her album.

That same year, Abdul co-wrote the song "Spinning Around" about her divorce from Beckerman with songwriter and producer Kara DioGuardi, who became a fellow judge on American Idol in The song was extremely successful, reaching No. While Abdul took a break from the music industry, she remained busy behind the scenes.

Abdul served as the choreographer for several productions, including the musical "Reefer Madness" and the cheerleading scenes in the film "American Beauty. The pilot never aired. In , Abdul appeared as one of three judges for the reality television music competition show American Idol. She soon set her sights on a bigger stage, though, as noted by The Wall Street Journal , and tried out for the L. Lakers cheerleading squad, making the team — after failing several times, that is. In an interview with Raise the Stakes Projects , she revealed she was one of nearly 2, girls at the audition and that she "got cut before I even got to dance.

The third try proved to be the charm when she finally made the squad. While her career was nearly derailed in after suffering an accident, Abdul told The Wall Street Journal that she "fought through it," eventually becoming the team's choreographer. That's when things really began to take off for the young dancer. Paula Abdul's work as a choreographer for the L. Lakers attracted the attention of the Jackson family — yes, those Jacksons, previously known as The Jackson 5, as noted by The Current.

Per Warm Abdul's work with The Jacksons led to widespread acclaim and other productions — notably the Tom Hanks film "Big," in which she choreographed the unforgettable scene with the giant keyboard yes, really! Abdul added that she came up with all the choreography in just half an hour, showing just how talented she truly is.

And everything worked out. Paula Abdul has been involved with some of Hollywood's biggest celebs. Back in the '90s, at the height of her success as a pop star, she met Emilio Estevez who was a cast member of the iconic '80s movie, "The Breakfast Club" while dating "Full House" star John Stamos.

After her relationship with Stamos ended, she began seeing Estevez, and the two tied the knot in Alas, the marriage was short-lived, as Abdul wanted children, and Estevez, who had two children of his own already, didn't want more.

It was like I was trying to fill this big empty hole," she said. Two years later, Abdul married sportswear manufacturer Brad Beckerman. Less than a year and a half later, though, the Associated Press reported that she had filed for divorce. Though, since the divorce, Abdul has dated a number of other celebs, including Colton Melby, Arsenio Hall, and Jackie Jackson via Zimbio and reportedly engaged in a fling that led to one of the biggest scandals in "American Idol" history , she has never again married per IMDb.

Paula Abdul has lived with chronic pain for most of her life after sustaining an injury during her cheerleading days as a teenager. Per ABC , she's also undergone more than a dozen surgeries over the years after injuring her neck in There was another reason for her pain, although Abdul didn't learn of it until when she was diagnosed with a rare condition called reflex sympathetic dystrophy RSD.

Sometimes called complex regional pain syndrome, or CRPS, the condition, which impacts the sympathetic nervous system, has had a huge impact on Abdul. Abdul's journey to diagnosis was a long one — which is typical for those living with RSD — as the condition isn't well known and is often misdiagnosed. Since her diagnosis, Abdul has learned to manage the condition through dietary changes, therapy, and supplements.

Despite the pain, Abdul shared with Pain Pathways Magazine that the condition has helped her "appreciate how amazing the body is" and that she "remain[s] in gratitude In , videos of Paula Abdul behaving erratically in interviews led to speculation that she was using drugs or drinking on air. The celeb denied using any substances in a panel with journalists via The New York Times , saying, "I've never been drunk. She started her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team at the age of 18, and later became the head choreographer for the Laker Girls, where she was soon discovered by The Jacksons.

After choreographing music videos for Janet Jackson , she signed her own record deal. Her debut album Forever Your Girl in became one of the most successful debut albums, selling 7 million copies in the US, and set a record for the most number-one singles from a debut album. Paula Abdul was born on June 19, She celebrated her 58th birthday in She was born in San Fernando, California to Jewish parents.