Paula Abdul
Paula Abdul was born in San Fernando Valley, California. She began taking dance lessons when she was eight. She was a student at Van Nuys High School, where she was the class president and head cheerleader. When she graduated in 1980, she enrolled in the Cal State-Northridge campus, studying radio and TV. After joining the L.A. Lakers cheerleaders, she became head cheerleader/choreographer after only a few months, eventually dropping out of college to dance and choreograph full-time. She was approached by The Jacksons to choreograph their 1984 "Torture" video, which was the first in a long list of movies and videos she choreographed. She branched out into singing on her debut album, "Forever Your Girl", which had lackluster sales until the hit song "Straight Up" exploded onto the charts in December 1988 and she's been a well-known performer ever since. Her popularity was further boosted by her appearance as an judge on the hit show American Idol (2002)...