Paula Abdul Woman Singer Pics

Abdul was born in San Fernando, California trader and owns a sand and gravel business in California, and Lorraine Rykiss, a former concert pianist who once worked as an assistant to , to Harry Abdul, who once worked as a livestockfilm director Billy Wilder.










Abdul's father was a Sephardi Syrian Jew who immigrated with his family to Brazil and then to the U.S., while her mother is also Jewish and originally from Saint Boniface, an area of Winnipeg, Canada. She and her sister, Wendy, who is seven years older, lived with their mother in the San Fernando Valley.











As a small child Abdul's interest in a career as a performer was inspired by Gene Kelly in the classic film Singin' in the Rain as well as such entertainers as Debbie Allen, Fred Astaire, and Bob Fosse.










Abdul began dance lessons around the age of eight and showed a natural talent for it. She attended Van Nuys High School where she was on the cheerleading squad, and was an honors student. At 15, she received a scholarship to a dance camp near Palm Springs.









Abdul enrolled at California State University at Northridge to study broadcasting. In her freshman year, she tried out for the Los Angeles Lakers' famed Laker Girls squad and was selected from a pool of 700. Within three months she became head choreographer. She quit school six months later.