Abdul was born June 19, 1962, in the San Fernando Valley, to Harry Abdul, a former livestock trader and owner of a sand and gravel business, and Lorraine Rykiss, a concert pianist who once worked as film director Billy Wilder's assistant. Her father is a Syrian Jew who was born in Syria, raised in Brazil, and subsequently immigrated to the U.S.[8] Abdul's mother is also Jewish and originally from Saint Boniface, Manitoba, Canada. Her maternal grandfather was named William Rykiss and was a proprietor of the general store in Minnedosa, Manitoba.
She and her sister, Wendy, grew up with their mother in the San Fernando Valley. An avid dancer and fan of music, 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 [9].
Abdul began taking dance lessons around 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 California State University, Northridge. During her first year, she was selected from a pool of 700 candidates for the cheerleading squad of the Los Angeles Lakers — the famed Laker Girls. Within three months, she became head choreographer. Six months later, she left school to focus on her choreography career.
[edit] Personal life Abdul was married to Emilio Estevez from April 29, 1992 to May 1994. She later married sportswear designer Brad Beckerman in 1996. They divorced in 1998. Valentine's Day 2006, Abdul appeared on Dr. Phil as part of a prime time special on love and relationships. She was set up on two dates and Phil McGraw gave her advice. In mid July 2007, Abdul announced that she had begun dating J.T. Torregiani,[10] a restaurant owner 12 years her junior [11]. She told Access Hollywood: "He is a good guy. Things are looking upwards. It's looking good right now. I wasn't even looking for someone and that's what usually happens." [12] Paula and JT broke up in June 2008 [13] citing their hectic work schedules. Having recovered from her eating disorder after treatment in 1994, she later became a spokeswoman for NEDA, and was presented with the Profiles In Living Award in late 2005. She then continued her work by recording Public Service Announcements in 2006. In April 2005, she revealed that she suffers from a rare neurological disorder called complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) that causes chronic pain.[14]
[edit] On Judaism and Israel
Paula practices Judaism [15] and is proud of her heritage. She stated, "My father is a Syrian Jew whose family immigrated to Brazil. My mother is Canadian with Jewish roots. My dream is to come to Israel for a real holiday." In November 2006, Israeli Tourist Minister Isaac Herzog invited her to Israel, to which Abdul responded with a hug, adding, "I will come; you have helped me make my dream come true."[8]
[edit] Court and legal On 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 USD $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 USD $775 for damage to the other car [16]. 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" [17].
[edit] Substance abuse allegations
Substance abuse allegations arose as the result of what some described as "erratic behavior" [18] by Abdul during episodes of American Idol. After reading these allegations on message boards, Abdul told People magazine in April 2005 that she suffered from chronic pain for years following a "cheerleading accident" at age 17 and was diagnosed with reflex sympathetic dystrophy in November 2004.[18] Abdul says she is now pain-free following treatment, including the anti-inflammatory medication Enbrel.[18]
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.[19] Abdul's publicist attributed this to fatigue and technical difficulties during the recording of the interviews.[19] It was revealed on the Bravo show Hey Paula, which had followed Abdul with a video camera prior to the interviews, that Abdul had not been sleeping, perhaps suffering from some mild form of insomnia.
In February 2007, Abdul told Us Weekly that she had never been drunk or used illegal drugs and called the allegations "lies"[20]. 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." Abdul appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show to "clear the air" on that situation.
[edit] Career
[edit] Dance and choreography
Abdul choreographed videos for several singers throughout the 1980s, including many videos for Janet Jackson during her Control era. In 1995, Abdul released a dance workout video entitled Paula Abdul's Get Up and Dance! (re-released on DVD in 2003), a fast-paced, hip-hop style workout. In 1998 she released a second video called Cardio Dance (re-released on DVD in 2000). In December 2005, Abdul launched a cheerleading/fitness/dance DVD series called Cardio Cheer, which is marketed to children and teenage girls involved with cheerleading and dance.
In film, Abdul choreographed sequences for the giant keyboard scene involving Tom Hanks’s character in Big. Further credits include Coming to America, Jerry McGuire, The Running Man, American Beauty (1999 film), and Oliver Stone's, The Doors.[21] Television credits include The Tracey Ullman Show, American Music Awards, the Academy Awards, and several commercials, such as The King's touchdown celebration, as seen in a string of popular Burger King television commercials that aired during the 2005-2006 NFL season.[21]
[edit] 1987-1990: Forever Your Girl era
Paula Abdul, 1990
In 1987, Abdul used her savings to make a singing demo. Although her voice was relatively untrained, her exceptional dancing proved marketable to the visually-oriented, MTV-driven, pop music industry.
In 1988, Abdul released her pop debut album, Forever Your Girl. The album took 62 weeks to hit #1 on the Billboard 200 album sales chart — the longest an album has been on the market before hitting #1 — and spent 10 weeks there. The album eventually became multi-platinum in the spring and summer of 1989, and it spawned five American Top Three singles, four of them #1s (three in 1989 and one in 1990): "Straight Up", "Forever Your Girl", "Cold Hearted", "(It's Just) The Way That You Love Me", and "Opposites Attract". A remix album, Shut Up and Dance, was also released and reached #7 on Billboard's album chart, becoming one of the most successful remix albums to date. The Grammy award-winning video for "Opposites Attract" featured an animated cat named MC Skat Kat. Abdul also went on a Club MTV tour where she performed songs from her album. Several other acts were also on the tour.
[edit] 1991-1992: Spellbound era
Abdul's follow-up album, 1991's Spellbound, contained another string of hits, and sold 13 million copies worldwide. The first single from Spellbound was the ballad, "Rush, Rush", which topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five consecutive weeks, and was noted for its music video and Rebel Without a Cause motif featuring Keanu Reeves in the James Dean role. "Promise of a New Day," the second release from the album, also hit No. 1, and it was followed by the Top 10 hit "Blowing Kisses in the Wind" and two Top 20 hits: "Vibeology" and "Will You Marry Me?."[citation needed] The album, Spellbound, retained much of the dance-oriented formula heard on her debut album. The track "U" was written for Paula by Prince. "U" was supposed to be the final single from the album, but was never actually released.[citation needed]
Abdul promoted the album through the "Under My Spell Tour." This tour was nearly cancelled due to an accident during rehearsals. The tour began on schedule and ran from October 1991 to the summer of 1992. In 1991, 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.
[edit] 1995–1996: Head Over Heels era
By 1995 Paula Abdul had recovered from her battle with the eating disorder bulimia nervosa and prepared to return to the spotlight with her new album Head Over Heels. The album received mixed reviews, and its singles became modest radio hits. The first single off the album, "My Love Is for Real" featured a fusion of R&B and traditional Middle Eastern instruments, and was performed with Yemeni-Israeli singer Ofra Haza. Its accompanying Lawrence of Arabia-inspired music video was played in theaters across the world as a preface to the film Clueless. It was a hit in the clubs (peaking at #1 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart), but the single stalled at #28 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. Despite the lack of mainstream chart success, the single was nominated for several MTV Video Music Awards.
The second single, "Crazy Cool" became a minor hit in the U.S. yet managed to peak at #13 on the dance charts. "Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up" served as the third and final single but failed to chart in the Hot 100. To date Head Over Heels has sold 3 million copies worldwide, Abdul's lowest selling studio album.
[edit] 2000s: Musical hiatus, controversy, and American Idol
After the low sales of Head Over Heels and conquering her personal problems, Abdul took a hiatus from the music industry. In 2000, Abdul’s Paula Abdul: Greatest Hits CD was released by Virgin Records (with whom Abdul was already no longer affiliated). It featured all of her hit singles as well as other noteworthy tracks. The song "Bend Time Back 'Round" had previously been heard only on the 1992 soundtrack for the hit television series Beverly Hills 90210. The album was not a commercial success; however, it managed to sell more than one million copies worldwide.
In 1997, Abdul co-wrote "Spinning Around", a dance-pop track intended to be the lead single off her new album. The album never materialized and "Spinning Around" was given to Kylie Minogue as a single. The song became highly successful and re-launched Minogue's career, as it was intended to do for Abdul, and reached #1 in numerous countries.
In 2002, Abdul appeared as one of three judges for the reality television music competition show American Idol. Abdul, along with fellow judges Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson, were to evaluate the talent of a large group of young amateur singers, eliminate most of them in various audition rounds, and then judge the finalists as American television viewers voted on which finalists would continue to each successive round, until all but the winner were eliminated. Abdul won praise as a sympathetic and compassionate judge. She seemed especially kind compared to fellow judge Simon Cowell, who was often very blunt in his appraisals of the contestants' performances. When she realized that Cowell's over-the-top judging style was heartbreaking for many young contestants, Abdul was so horrified, she considered leaving the show. Although their differences often resulted in extremely heated on-air exchanges and confrontations, Cowell says he played a major role in convincing Abdul not to leave the show.[22] Now a bona fide television celebrity, Abdul accepted a second assignment as reporter for Entertainment Tonight. Her knack for finding something positive in almost every performance, her emotion-laden praise for contestants whose style she really likes, and her unique fingers-bent-outwards handclapping style have fueled the belief among some that she is drunk during auditions. This rumor has been the subject of satire, especially by Amy Poehler during Saturday Night Live sketches and Nicole Parker on MADtv. This ability to give positive feedback to every performance has also led some people to say she is a poor judge incapable of constructive criticism.
Abdul has been criticized for falling back on the same cliches and pat phrases when praising or critiquing Idol contestants. The comments include: "America loves you!" "You own the stage!" "You're authentic!" "You made it your own!" "You're unique!" "It wasn't your best performance."
Several American comedy shows, including Saturday Night Live, The Simpsons, and Mad TV, have capitalized on these catch-phrases when doing sketches involving an Abdul impersonator. They also imitate Abdul's unusual "arm-flapping" style of clapping her hands.[citation needed] Paula was referenced in an episode of the hit animated series Family Guy, titled "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz". During a routine 'cutaway gag', a clip from Paula's video for her earlier hit Opposites Attract is shown, with Peter Griffin replacing MC Skat Kat in both image and voice. According to the Family Guy: Volume 4 DVD commentary, the vocals of Skat Kat on the track could not be separated from Paula's, so she came in and re-recorded the chorus of the song for the show. This would be her first Family Guy guest star credit.
In May 2005, ABC's news magazine Primetime Live reported claims by Season 2 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.[23] 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".[24]
On March 28, 2006 FOX announced that Abdul had signed to stay on American Idol as a judge for at least three more years. Later that year, fellow American Idol judge Simon Cowell invited her to be a guest judge at some of the early auditions for the third series of his similar UK talent show The X Factor. Abdul was present at the initial audition of the eventual winner, Leona Lewis.
The week of May 14 to May 18, 2007 (the week before the season 6 finale), Abdul broke her nose when she tried to "avoid tripping over her pet chihuahua". She was present at the May 22 performance and the May 23 finale.
Her second greatest-hits CD, entitled Greatest Hits: Straight Up!, was released by Virgin on May 8, 2007. This album was put together by Virgin Records who no longer employs Abdul. At this time, they also released the music videos to all her six #1 singles to iTunes.
Bravo announced a reality television series following Abdul through her day-to-day life, called Hey Paula. The series was produced by Scott Sternberg Productions and debuted on June 28, 2007 [25]. Paula's behavior as depicted on the show has been described as 'erratic' by comedian Rosie O'Donnell.[26] and decried by numerous fans and critics.
Abdul's American Idol wardrobe often includes a number of necklaces, rings, bracelets, and earrings that she designs, and she often gives show contestants custom-designed jewelry. In 2007, Paula Abdul Jewelry launched its nationwide consumer debut on QVC, with the tagline "fashion jewelry designed with heart and soul".[27] Paula's first QVC appearance resulted in 15 sellouts of her first jewelry collection involving more than 34,000 pieces.[28] Paula is currently about to release her own perfume entitled "Sexy Thoughts."[citation needed]
Abdul has also said that she is planning on competing on Season 7 of Dancing With the Stars in the Fall, despite that being American Idol's competitive show and her being a choreographer.
In January 2008, Paula returned to the music charts for the first time in nearly 13 years with the single "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow", which is the first track on the album Randy Jackson's Music Club Vol 1. The song debuted on On Air with Ryan Seacrest[29]. The song was a modest comeback hit for Paula, peaking at #62 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.
Paula's MTV show "RAH!" premiered in January 2009. The 90-minute special featured eight collegiate cheerleading squads, which competed in a series of challenges in order to be crowned the winner by Paula. [30] A snippet of Paula's latest single "Boombox", a cover of a Kylie Minogue song, also premiered on the show.
[edit] Fan death
Paula Goodspeed, whose Idol audition aired during season 5, was found dead outside Abdul's home on November 11, 2008. Police say she appeared to have died of a drug overdose. Abdul told Entertainment Tonight through her representative that she is "shocked and saddened" by the incident, adding that she had been aware of the woman for "several years" who "has issues." [31] American Idol producer Ken Warwick says that Goodspeed made it through to audition because it was not known that she was a threat."I knew she was a fan -- I knew she was an ardent fan, but that was the only thing that came in front of me, so it's just a really awful unfortunate situation," he said.[32] Abdul countered FOX claims, however, in an interview with Barbara Walters in which she stated she "begged" producers not to let Goodspeed audition, but that for entertainment purposes the audition went forward as planned.
