Paula Julie Abdul was born in 1963 in San Fernando, California. From the age of nine, she took dance lessons and impressed her teachers with her natural ability to dance and entertain.
Paula appeared on TV at the age of 16 (in the 1978 movie-musicalΒ Junior High School). In the early 1980s, Paula auditioned to cheer for the LA Lakers and passed the audition, going on to cheer for the legendary basketball team, eventually becoming the squad’s choreographer.
She quickly gained a reputation as one of the most talented and innovative choreographers in Hollywood and worked on the moviesΒ Private SchoolΒ (1983) andΒ Coming To AmericaΒ (1988). She also choreographed routines for the TV seriesΒ The Tracy Ullman Show.
Paula was eventually hired by Janet Jackson to choreograph the video clip forΒ Nasty. Since the clip (and the song) was a hit, Paula was soon sought after by (amongst others)Β George Michael, Debbie Gibson,Β Duran Duran,Β INXSΒ andΒ ZZ Top.
Deciding to take the plunge from choreography and dance into music, she recorded a demo tape and persuaded Virgin to record an album.
In May 1988 she recorded and released a single calledΒ Knocked OutΒ which peaked at #41 on the American Hot 100.
A month later, Virgin releasedΒ Forever Your Girl, Paula’s debut album. Her follow up singleΒ The Way That You Love MeΒ reached only #88.
Despite the initial poor sales, a third single,Β Straight Up, was released in February 1989 and went straight to #1. The title track to the albumΒ Forever Your GirlΒ was released as a single and that also went to #1. Paula had her third #1Β hit in September with the singleΒ Cold Hearted.
The Way That You LoveΒ peaked at #3Β in December 1989. In February 1990 Paula had her fourth #1Β single withΒ Opposites AttractΒ (featuring MC Skat Kat). To this day Paula remains one of the few female artists to have achieved four #1 singles from a debut album.
Forever Your GirlΒ (the album) sold over ten million copies worldwide, going multi-platinum and making Paula Abdul a household name throughout the world.
Paula’s second albumΒ SpellboundΒ was released in 1991, and it appeared that her success would continue whereΒ Forever Your GirlΒ left off.
The first single fromΒ Spellbound,Β Rush RushΒ went to #1Β in May 1991 and stayed there for five weeks. Her second singleΒ Promise Of A New DayΒ also went to #1Β in September.
Her third single,Β Blowing Kisses In The Wind, peaked at #6Β in February 1992, marking a downturn in Paula’s commercial success. However, she continued to make the headline with her highly publicised marriage to HollywoodΒ Brat Packer, Emilio Estevez.
In 1992 Abdul confessed to suffering from the eating disorderΒ bulimiaΒ and checked herself into a clinic. She also divorced Estevez in May 1994, citing irreconcilable differences.
Her reputation was damaged when backing vocalist Yvette Marine claimed she, and not Paula, had sung the main vocals on several tracks from theΒ Forever Your GirlΒ album. Paula and Virgin eventually won the case.
By 1995 Paula had successfully overcome her demons and prepared to return to the spotlight. In the summer of 1995, she released her third album,Β Head Over Heels, a departure from her first two albums, with a mixture of pop, soul and a little hip-hop.
However, a new generation of musicians had overtaken her, andΒ Head Over HeelsΒ peaked at just #18 on theΒ BillboardΒ 100. The three singles that were released from the album failed to reach the top twenty.
In October 1996 Paula married Brad Beckerman, heir to a clothing giant called ‘Starter’, in a whirlwind romance after they were set up on a blind date by a mutual friend. Sadly, this was to prove to be yet another false start in Paula’s life and they divorced just seventeen months later citing irreconcilable differences.
In January 1997 Paula ventured into TV, making her adult acting debut with ABC’s Sunday Night MovieΒ Touched By Evil, the true story of a woman recovering from a brutal rape. She went on to make appearances onΒ Spin City,Β NBC’sΒ Mr Rock & Roll:Β The Alan Freed Story, the cable TV movieΒ The Waiting Game, NBC’sΒ Saturday Night Live, and ABC’sΒ Sabrina The Teenage Witch.
In 1998 she released anΒ aerobicsΒ video calledΒ Cardio Dance, a follow up to herΒ Get Up and DanceΒ video released in 1995. She also established her own dance education company, Co Dance.