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Paula Julie Abdul (pron-en 'æbdu?l; born June 19, 1962) is an American pop singer, record producer, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality.
In the 1980s, Abdul rose from cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers to highly sought-after choreographer at the height of the music video era before scoring a string of Pop-R&B hits in the late-1980s and early-1990s. Her six number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 tie her for fifth among the female solo performers who have reached #1 there. She won a Grammy for "Best Music Video - Short Form" for "Opposites Attract" and twice won the "Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography."
After her initial period of success, she suffered a series of setbacks in her professional and personal life, until she found renewed fame and success in the 2000s as a judge on the television series, American Idol, for eight years, before departing from the show. Abdul has since been working on a new album, and hopes to have the album released by the end of 2009.
BackgroundAbdul was born in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, the daughter of Lorraine (née Rykiss), a concert pianist who once worked as film director Billy Wilder's assistant, and Harry Abdul, a former livestock trader and owner of a sand and gravel business. Her father, a Syrian Jew, was born in Syria, raised in Brazil, and subsequently emigrated to the United States;[ title=Israeli minister, American Idol] Abdul's mother, also Jewish, is originally from Saint Boniface (now part of Winnipeg), Manitoba, Canada, and Abdul inherited Canadian citizenship through her.
An avid dancer, Abdul was inspired towards a show business career by Gene Kelly in the classic film ''Singin' in the Rain as well as Debbie Allen, Fred Astaire, and Bob Fosse.Failed verification
Abdul began taking dance lessons at the age of eight and showed a natural talent
. She attended Van Nuys High School, where she was a cheerleader and an honor student. At 15, she received a scholarship to a dance camp near Palm Springs, and in 1978 appeared in a low-budget Independent musical film, Junior High School.
Abdul studied broadcasting at the California State University at Northridge. During her first year (freshman), she was selected from a pool of 700 candidates for the cheerleading squad of the Los Angeles Lakers NBA basketball team—the famed Laker Girls. Within three months, she became head choreographer. Six months later, she left the university to focus on her choreography and dancing career.
CareerDance and choreography era (1982–1986)Abdul was discovered by The Jacksons, after a few of the band members had watched her while attending a Los Angeles Laker game.
ControversiesCorey ClarkIn May 2005, ABC's news magazine Primetime Live reported claims by Season 2 American Idol contestant Corey Clark that he and Abdul had an affair during that season, and that she had coached him on how to succeed in the competition. The fact that Clark came forward at a time when he was marketing a CD and trying to get a book deal was seen as suspicious by some, but Clark maintains that his career was being prejudiced because of his relationship with Abdul and that is why he came forward with the information to clear his name. For the most part, Abdul refused to comment on Clark's allegations. At the height of the debacle, Abdul appeared in a Saturday Night Live skit, making light of the situation. While Fox launched an investigation, Abdul received numerous calls of support from celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey; Barbara Walters even addressed the camera during an episode of ABC's The View to say she was ashamed to be part of an operation that would report Clark's flimsy tabloid claims under the guise of a news story. In August 2005 the Fox network confirmed that she would be returning to the show, as the investigation had found "insufficient evidence that the communications between Mr. Clark and Ms. Abdul in any way aided his performance".
Legal issuesOn December 20, 2004, Abdul was driving her Mercedes on an L.A.-area freeway when she changed lanes and hit another vehicle. The driver and passenger snapped a photograph with a cell phone camera and wrote down the license plate number of the car, which was traced to Abdul. On March 24, 2005, Abdul was fined $900 and given 24 months of informal probation after pleading no contest to misdemeanor hit-and-run driving in Los Angeles. In addition to the fines she was ordered to pay $775 for damage to the other car.
On April 4, 2006, Abdul filed a report at a Hollywood police station claiming she had been a victim of battery at a private party at about 1 a.m. April 2, according to L.A.P.D. spokesman police Lt. Paul Vernon. "According to Abdul, the man at the party argued with her, grabbed her by the arm and threw her against a wall", Vernon said. "She said she had sustained a concussion and spinal injuries".
Substance abuse allegationsSubstance abuse allegations arose as the result of what some described as "erratic behavior"
Allegations arose again in January 2007 when videos circulated on the Internet of Abdul appearing to sway in her chair and slur her speech during a set of interviews.[Paula Abdul seen slurring in TV interview, Reuters via MSNBC.com, 2007-01-15, Retrieved on 2007-04-09.] Abdul's publicist attributed this to fatigue and technical difficulties during the recording of the interviews.
In February 2007, Abdul told Us Weekly that she had never been drunk or used illegal drugs and called the allegations "lies".
In a March 2007 appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, Abdul joked that her scrutinized behavior was caused by her being "abducted by aliens".
In several interviews given in the late 2000s, Paula claimed to have been left in debilitating pain after a 1992 car accident and a 1993 plane crash that required 15 spinal surgeries and which left her dependent on pain medication for years.
In May 2009, ''Ladies' Home Journal posted an article on its Web site that said Abdul told them she attended the La Costa Resort and Spa the previous year to recover from physical dependence on prescription pain medications.[Paula Abdul Reveals Struggle with Prescription Painkillers, ]People, 2009-05-05, Retrieved on 2009-05-06 The medications, prescribed due to injuries and her RSD diagnosis, included a pain patch, nerve medication, and a muscle relaxant. According to the article, Abdul said the medications made her "get weird" at times and that she suffered from physical withdrawal symptoms during her recovery.
Later that same week, though, in an interview with Detroit radio station WKQI, Abdul rejected the article's accuracy. She told the radio station she never checked into a rehab clinic and never had a drug abuse problem.
Tours- The Club MTV Tour
- The Under My Spell Tour
DiscographyFilmographyFilm and television
As choreographer
Copyright Citations
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