Paula Abdul

Singer, dancer and choreographer whose father, Harry Abdul, is a Syrian Jew born in Aleppo and raised in Brazil. She choreographed for stars including Janet Jackson before a run of number-one hits from 1988, and later served as a judge on American Idol.

Who is Paula Abdul?

Paula Abdul is an American singer, dancer and choreographer whose run of hits in the late 1980s and early 1990s made her one of the biggest pop stars of her time, and whose years as a judge on American Idol made her a household name for a new generation. Her father is a Syrian Jew from Aleppo.

Family

Paula Julie Abdul was born on 19 June 1962 in San Fernando, California. Her father, Harry Abdul, was born in Aleppo, Syria, and raised in Brazil before immigrating to the United States; the family belongs to the great Aleppo Jewish diaspora that spread to Latin America and the United States. Her mother, Lorraine Rykiss, a concert pianist, was of Ashkenazi Jewish origin from Canada. Abdul has spoken of her father’s Syrian Jewish background in interviews.

Dancer and choreographer

Abdul began as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team, where she soon became head choreographer of the Laker Girls. Her talent led to work choreographing music videos and films, most famously for Janet Jackson, and she went on to win two Primetime Emmy Awards for choreography.

Pop star

Her debut album, Forever Your Girl (1988), produced four number-one singles in the United States, and her second album, Spellbound (1991), brought two more. Her songs and videos, with their complex choreography, defined the pop of the era.

From 2002 to 2009 she was a judge on American Idol, the most popular talent show of the decade, and she later judged other competitions, including The X Factor and So You Think You Can Dance. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Legacy

Paula Abdul’s story reflects the journey of the Jews of Aleppo, one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world, whose families settled from Brazil to Brooklyn and carried their heritage into every walk of life, including the center of American popular culture.