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.
Robots
(Watch (voice))
Sesame Street: Zoe's Dance Moves
(Self)
A Smoky Mountain Christmas
(Choreographer (uncredited))
Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers
(3-D Reporter / Paula Abdul)
Family Guy Presents: Stewie Kills Lois and Lois Kills Stewie
(Paula Abdul (voice))
Power Girls
(Self (archive footage))
Mr. Rock n Roll: The Alan Freed Story
(Denise Walton)
The Waiting Game
(Amy Fuentes)
2022 American Rescue Dog Show
(Self - Judge)
Howard
(Self (archive footage))
Waking Sleeping Beauty
(Self (archive footage))
Raging Midlife
(Mary Todd)
American Idol: The Search For A Superstar
(Judge)
Paula Abdul: Under My Spell Live
(Self)
Time Out: The Truth About HIV, AIDS and You
(Self)
Sinatra: 80 Years My Way
(Self - Performer)
L.A. Story
(Roller Skater in Front of Tail O' the Pup (uncredited))
American Idol: The Best of Seasons 1-4
(Self - Judge (archive footage))
Barbie Dance Club
(Self)
For Our Children
(Self)
Singin' in the Rain: Raining on a New Generation
(Self)
VH1 Divas 2009
(Self - Host)
Private School
(Cheerleader (uncredited))
American Idol: The Worst of Seasons 1-4
(Self - Judge)
The Master of Disguise
(Choreographer (uncredited))
Paula Abdul Cardio Dance
(Self)
A Sister's Secret
(Detective Tucker)
Brüno
(Self - American Idol Judge)
Touched By Evil
(Ellen Collier)
Romy and Michele: In the Beginning
(Self)
Paula Abdul's Get Up & Dance
(Self)
Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens
(Self (archive footage))
Junior High School
(Sherry)
Impractical Jokers: The Movie
(Paula Abdul)
Life Is Not a Fairytale: The Fantasia Barrino Story
(Self)
Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: A Schitt's Creek Farewell
(Self)
Can't Buy Me Love
(Dancer (uncredited))
Less than Perfect
(Kathleen)
Entertainment Tonight
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
(Self)
The Tony Danza Show
(Self)
Family Guy
(Paula Abdul (voice))
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
(Self)
All of Us
(Self)
The Daily Show
(Self)
The Single Guy
(Paula Abdul)
The Tracey Ullman Show
The Wayans Bros.
(Sasha)
Today
(Self)
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
(Self)
The Friday Night Project
(Self - Host)
The View
(Self)
Cybill
E! True Hollywood Story
(Self)
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
(Self)
All That
(Self)
The Jay Leno Show
(Self)
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
(Self - Guest)
Muppets Tonight
(Self)
Celebrities Uncensored
(Self)
A Little Late with Lilly Singh
(Self)
Al TV
(Self)
Hey Paula
(Self)
The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn
(Self)
Good Day Live
(Self)
TRL
This Is Pop
(Self (archive footage))
Live to Dance
So You Think You Can Dance
The Muppets Mayhem
(Paula Abdul)
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
(Paula Abdul)
2009 Game Show Awards
(Self (archive footage))
Lip Sync Battle
(Self)
RuPaul's Drag Race
(Self - Guest Judge)
Dancing with the Stars
(Self - Guest Judge)
Spin City
(Paula Abdul)
So You Think You Can Dance
(Self - Judge)
Drop Dead Diva
(Judge Paula)
MTV Video Music Awards
(Self)
Hell's Kitchen
(Self - Restaurant Patron)
The Nineties
(Self (archive footage))
Made for Love
(Anydoors)
The Jennifer Hudson Show
(Self - Guest)
The Bernie Mac Show
(Paula Abdul)
The Movies That Made Us
(Self)
The Reichen Show
(Self - Guest)
Going Live!
(Self)
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
(Self - Guest)
American Idol
(Self - Judge)
Impractical Jokers
(Self)
The Arsenio Hall Show
(Self)
RuPaul
(Self)
Entertainment Tonight
(Self)
The Kelly Clarkson Show
(Self)
Saturday Night Live
(Self - Cameo (uncredited))
Champs-Elysées
(Self)
On Air with Ryan Seacrest
(Self)
Fresh Off the Boat
(Holly)
Celebrity Wheel of Fortune
(Self - Contestant)
The X Factor
(Self - Judge)
Impractical Jokers: Dinner Party
(Self)
The Masked Dancer
(Self - Panelist)
JANET JACKSON.
(Self)
Sacrée Soirée
(Self)
Let's Dance
That's So Raven
(The Host)
Paris in Love
(Self)
The Golden Bachelor
(Self - Guest)
Canada's Drag Race
(Self - Guest Judge)
The Streamy Awards
(Self - Presenter)
Black Knight
(Choreographer)
1660 Vine
(Choreographer)
War Dancing - Dance to Win
(Choreographer)
A Smoky Mountain Christmas
(Choreographer)
American Beauty
(Choreographer)
She's Out of Control
(Choreographer)
Coming to America
(Choreographer)
Can't Buy Me Love
(Choreographer)
The Running Man
(Choreographer)
The Karate Kid Part III
(Choreographer)
The Master of Disguise
(Choreographer)
The Doors
(Choreographer)
Action Jackson
(Choreographer)
Live to Dance
(Producer)
So You Think You Can Dance
(Executive Producer)
So You Think You Can Dance
(Music Programmer)
So You Think You Can Dance
(Music Sound Design and Processing)