Paula Abdul
Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreographer for the Laker Girls, where she was discovered by the Jacksons. After choreographing music videos for Janet Jackson, Abdul became a choreographer at the height of the music video era and soon thereafter she was signed to Virgin Records. Abdul's debut studio album, Forever Your Girl (1988), became one of the most successful debut albums at that time, selling seven million copies in the United States and setting a record for the most U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles from a debut album: "Straight Up", "Forever Your Girl", "Cold Hearted", and "Opposites Attract". Her second album, Spellbound (1991), scored the number-one singles "Rush Rush" and "The Promise of a New Day". With six number-one singles on Hot 100, Abdul tied Diana Ross for the third-most chart-toppers among female solo artists at the time. As of 2025, Abdul places seventh along with Diana Ross and Lady Gaga for the most number-one singles by female artists in the U.S. to date. Abdul was one of the original judges on the television series American Idol from 2002 to 2009, and has since appeared as a judge on The X Factor, Live to Dance, So You Think You Can Dance, and The Masked Dancer. She received choreography credits in numerous films, including Can't Buy Me Love (1987), The Running Man (1987), Coming to America (1988), Action Jackson (1988), The Doors (1991), Jerry Maguire (1996), and American Beauty (1999). She received 17 MTV Video Music Award nominations, winning five, as well as receiving the Grammy Award for Best Music Video for "Opposites Attract" in 1991. She received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography twice for her work on The Tracey Ullman Show, and her own performance at the American Music Awards in 1990. Abdul was honored with her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and is the first entertainer to be honored with the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards' Hall of Fame Award. Abdul was born in San Fernando, California. She is Jewish: her father, Harry Abdul, is of Syrian Jewish heritage and was born in Aleppo, Syria, raised in Brazil and emigrated to the United States. Her mother, Lorraine (Rykiss), was a concert pianist of Jewish heritage, from Minnedosa, Manitoba, Canada. Abdul has an older sister named Wendy. As an avid dancer, Abdul was inspired towards a show business career by Gene Kelly in the film Singin' in the Rain. ... Source: Article "Paula Abdul" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.
113 acting credits
Acting · 113
Family Guy
1999
The Daily Show
1996
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
2009
The Kelly Clarkson Show
2019
Saturday Night Live
1975
Dancing with the Stars
2005
The Jennifer Hudson Show
2022
RuPaul's Drag Race
2009
The View
1997
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
2003
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
1988
American Idol
2002
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
1996
Fresh Off the Boat
2015
Hell's Kitchen
2005
Champs-Elysées
1982
Spin City
1996
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
2003
MTV Video Music Awards
1984
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
1993
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1992
Sacrée soirée
1987
Drop Dead Diva
2009
So You Think You Can Dance
2005
That's So Raven
2003
The Bernie Mac Show
2001
Good Day Live
2001
The Tony Danza Show
2004
Cybill
1995
The Reichen Show
2005
All That
1994
Lip Sync Battle
2015
Impractical Jokers
2011
A Little Late with Lilly Singh
2019
American Music Awards
1974
The Single Guy
1995
The Wayans Bros.
1995
The Jay Leno Show
2009
Less than Perfect
2002
All of Us
2003
On Air with Ryan Seacrest
2004
Going Live!
1987
Celebrity Wheel of Fortune
2021
TRL
1998
American Idol
2018
The Tracey Ullman Show
1987
The Movies That Made Us
2019
The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn
1999
Robots
2005
Entertainment Tonight
1981
Muppets Tonight
1996
Steve
2017
Today
1952
The Nineties
2017
The Muppets Mayhem
2023
Made for Love
2021
Canada's Drag Race
2020
This Is Pop
2021
The Arsenio Hall Show
2013
The X Factor
2011
Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers
2022
JANET JACKSON.
2022
Brüno
2009
Al TV
1984
Can't Buy Me Love
1987
Private School
1983
Impractical Jokers: Dinner Party
2020
RuPaul
2019
E! True Hollywood Story
1996
The Streamy Awards
2009
Paris in Love
2021
Time Out: The Truth About HIV, AIDS and You
1992
L.A. Story
1991
Waking Sleeping Beauty
2009
Let's Dance
2006
The Master of Disguise
2002
The Masked Dancer
2020
Family Guy Presents: Stewie Kills Lois and Lois Kills Stewie
2009
Howard
2018
Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: A Schitt's Creek Farewell
2020
The Golden Bachelor
2023
Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens
2007
Romy and Michele: In the Beginning
2005
Sinatra: 80 Years My Way
1995
2009 Game Show Awards
2009
Impractical Jokers: The Movie
2020
Mr. Rock n Roll: The Alan Freed Story
1999
Life Is Not a Fairytale: The Fantasia Barrino Story
2006
Celebrity Ghost Stories
2020
A Smoky Mountain Christmas
1986
For Our Children
1993
A Sister's Secret
2018
Celebrities Uncensored
2003
American Idol: The Best of Seasons 1-4
2005
VH1 Divas 2009
2009
Hey Paula
2007
Junior High School
1978
The Waiting Game
2001
American Idol: The Search For A Superstar
2002
The Friday Night Project
2005
Live to Dance
2011
Power Girls
2002
Singin' in the Rain: Raining on a New Generation
2012
Sesame Street: Zoe's Dance Moves
2003
Touched By Evil
1997
Raging Midlife
2025
2022 American Rescue Dog Show
2022
Janet Jackson: Japanese Singles Collection - Greatest Hits
2022
American Idol: The Worst of Seasons 1-4
2005
Paula Abdul Cardio Dance
2000
Paula Abdul: Under My Spell Live
1992
Barbie Dance Club
1989
Paula Abdul's Get Up & Dance
1994