Paula Abdul
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. ...
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Filmography (109 Appearances)
Raging Midlife
The Golden Bachelor
The Muppets Mayhem
The Jennifer Hudson Show
Janet Jackson: Japanese Singles Collection - Greatest Hits
2022 American Rescue Dog Show
Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers
JANET JACKSON.
Paris in Love
Made for Love
This Is Pop
Celebrity Wheel of Fortune
The Masked Dancer
Canada's Drag Race
Impractical Jokers: Dinner Party
Celebrity Ghost Stories
Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: A Schitt's Creek Farewell
Impractical Jokers: The Movie
The Movies That Made Us
A Little Late with Lilly Singh
The Kelly Clarkson Show
RuPaul
A Sister's Secret
Howard
The Nineties
Lip Sync Battle
Fresh Off the Boat
The Arsenio Hall Show
Singin' in the Rain: Raining on a New Generation
Impractical Jokers
The X Factor
Live to Dance
VH1 Divas 2009
The Jay Leno Show
Waking Sleeping Beauty
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
Drop Dead Diva
Brüno
2009 Game Show Awards
Family Guy Presents: Stewie Kills Lois and Lois Kills Stewie
The Streamy Awards
RuPaul's Drag Race
Hey Paula
Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens
Let's Dance
Life Is Not a Fairytale: The Fantasia Barrino Story
American Idol: The Best of Seasons 1-4
American Idol: The Worst of Seasons 1-4
The Reichen Show
So You Think You Can Dance
Dancing with the Stars
Romy and Michele: In the Beginning
Hell's Kitchen
Robots
The Friday Night Project
The Tony Danza Show
On Air with Ryan Seacrest
All of Us
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Celebrities Uncensored
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
That's So Raven
Sesame Street: Zoe's Dance Moves
Less than Perfect
Power Girls
The Master of Disguise
American Idol
American Idol: The Search For A Superstar
The Bernie Mac Show
Good Day Live
The Waiting Game
Paula Abdul Cardio Dance
Mr. Rock n Roll: The Alan Freed Story
The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn
Family Guy
TRL
The View
Touched By Evil
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
Spin City
E! True Hollywood Story
The Daily Show
Muppets Tonight
Sinatra: 80 Years My Way
The Single Guy
The Wayans Bros.
Cybill
All That
Paula Abdul's Get Up & Dance
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
For Our Children
Time Out: The Truth About HIV, AIDS and You
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Paula Abdul: Under My Spell Live
L.A. Story
Barbie Dance Club
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
Going Live!
Sacrée Soirée
Can't Buy Me Love
The Tracey Ullman Show
A Smoky Mountain Christmas
MTV Video Music Awards
Al TV
Private School
Champs-Elysées
Entertainment Tonight
Junior High School
Saturday Night Live