- Paula Abdul is a famous music star
- She has been performing for many years
- Learn more about her life and career here
Paula Julie Abdul was born on June 19, 1962, in the Los Angeles suburb of San Fernando, California. She was drawn into a career in entertainment when first seeing the film Singin' in the Rain. From then on, she made sure dancing was a part of her life - she was a high school cheerleader, and additionally took ballet, tap and jazz lessons growing up!
Paula Abdul's career beginnings up until today
By her freshman year of college, she auditioned to be a cheerleader for the Laker's basketball team, and received a spot as a Lakers Girl out of 700 other applicants! It was then that members of The Jacksons spotted her at a game and signed her as their choreographer for not just their music videos, but also Janet Jackson's specifically!
By 1987, although she wasn't professionally trained for singing, Paula had signed onto the new Virgin Records to release her first album. And she did - Forever Your Girl was released in 1988, was the biggest-selling debut album on the Billboard charts at the time. The record has been certified 7x platinum!
Already by 1990, Paula received her first Grammy Award for Best Music Video for "Opposites Attract". Here are just some of the awards that Paula won at the beginning of her career:
- Primetime Emmy Awards: Outstanding Choreography (1989)
- People’s Choice Awards: Favorite Female Musical Performer (1989)
- American Music Awards: Favorite Dance Artist, Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist (1991)
- People’s Choice Awards: Favorite Female Musical Performer (1991)
- Hollywood Walk of Fame (1991)
- Grammy Awards: Best Recording Package (1992)
Many people today also recognize Paula Abdul from her time serving as a judge on the competitive singing show, American Idol. She was on the show from 2000-2009, and would appear as a judge on other series like The X Factor, RuPaul's Drag Race and So You Think You Can Dance.
Today, the singer/dancer/judge finished her Las Vegas residency, which started August 2019 and ended January 2020. At age 61, we're incredibly impressed that she has the same energy to still perform at the level she does!
In her private life, she doesn't seem to be dating anyone! She was famously married to Emilio Estevez from 1992-1994, then to Brad Beckerman from 1996-1998. For now, she's caring for her sweet dogs, and has been an advocate for animal rights for years now!
We hope to see more of this dancing queen this year!
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