Paula Abdul

Paula Julie Abdul (; born June 19, 1962) is an American singer and dancer. She had a string of hit songs and choreographed (planned) many dances for herself and others, including singer-songwriter Janet Jackson.  Musically, she is known for her late-1980s number-one singles "Straight Up" and "Cold Hearted", along with the 1990s number-one hit "Opposites Attract".  She won a Grammy Award for "Best Music Video – Short Form" for "Opposites Attract". She was a judge on the television show American Idol for its first eight seasons. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range.

Abdul is Jewish.

Discography

Studio albums 
 Forever Your Girl (1988)
 Spellbound (1991)
 Head over Heels (1995)

Tours and residencies
Headlining
Under My Spell Tour (1991–92)
Straight Up Paula! (2018–19)

Co-headlining
Club MTV Live (1989)
Total Package Tour (2017)

Residency
Paula Abdul: Forever Your Girl (2019–20)

Filmography
Film
 Year Title Role Notes 1978  Junior High School  Sherry  1983  Private School Cheerleader   1986  A Smoky Mountain Christmas  Choreographer  TV movie 1987  Can't Buy Me Love  Dancer   1991 L.A. Story Roller Skater 1997  Touched By Evil  Ellen Collier  TV movie 1998  The Waiting Game  Amy Fuentes  TV movie 1999  Mr. Rock 'n' Roll: The Alan Freed Story  Denise Walton TV movie 2002  The Master of Disguise  Choreographer   2005  Robots  Watch (voice)  Romy and Michele: In the Beginning  Herself  TV movie 2009  Brüno  Herself   2018  A Sister's Secret  Detective Tupper TV movie 2020 Impractical Jokers: The Movie Herself 2022 Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers Herself 

Television
 Year Title Role Notes 1988 Soul Train Herself Episode: "New Edition/Paula Abdul"  Showtime at the Apollo Herself Episode: "Episode #2.5" & "#2.12" 1989 The Tracey Ullman Show Herself Episode: "Episode #3.18" 1990 Going Live! Herself Episode: "Episode #3.30" 1995 Fully Booked Herself Episode: "Episode #1.8" 1996 Muppets Tonight  Herself  Episode: "Paula Abdul" Cybill Herself Episode: "Lowenstein's Lament"  The Single Guy Herself Episode: "Affair" 1998 Saturday Night Live  Herself  Episode: "David Duchovny/Puff Daddy/Jimmy Page" Spin City Herself Episode: "It Happened One Night" 1999  The Wayans Bros.  Sasha  Episode: "Dream Girl" All That  Herself  Episode: "All That Live! (100th Episode)" Chicken Soup for the Soul  Herself  Episode: "The Window/Cookie Thief/Appointment/All Good Things" Sabrina, the Teenage Witch  Herself  Episode: "Aging, Not So Gracefully" 2002 Mad TV  Herself  Episode: "Episode #8.1" Hollywood Squares  Herself/Panelist Recurring Guest  American Idol  Herself/Judge  Main Judge: Seasons 1–8, Guest Judge: Season 19, Guest: Seasons 9 & 12 & 15 & 21 2003 Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway Herself Episode: "Episode #2.3" 2003-06 E! True Hollywood Story  Herself Recurring Guest 2004  Driven  Herself  Episode: "Paula Abdul" The Bernie Mac Show  Herself  Episode: "That Old Mac Magic" That's So Raven  The Host Episode: "The Road to Audition" 2005  Your Total Health  Herself  Episode: "Episode #2.2" Fashion in Focus Herself Episode: "Big Money Under the Tents" Biography  Herself Episode: "Paula Abdul" Dateline NBC  Herself  Episode: "Episode #13.36" All of Us  Herself  Episode: "Hollywood Swinging" Saturday Night Live  Herself  Episode: "Johnny Knoxville/System of a Down" The Contender  Herself  Episode: "Series Finale" I Love the '80s 3-D  Herself Main Guest Less Than Perfect  Kathleen  Episode: "Distractions" 2005-07  Family Guy  Herself (voice)  Guest: Season 4, Recurring Cast: Season 6 2006  The X Factor   Herself  Recurring Guest: Season 3 2007  Hey Paula  Herself  Main Cast The Friday Night Project  Herself/Guest Host Episode: "Episode #5.6" 2008 RAH! Paula Abdul's Cheerleading Bowl  Herself/Host Main Host Hollywood Residential  Herself  Episode: "The Hotness" Hotel Babylon  Herself  Episode: "Episode #3.1" 2009 InFANity  Herself  Episode: "American Idol" Howie Do It  Herself  Episode: "Episode #1.5" E! Investigates  Herself  Episode: "Stalkers" VH1 Divas  Herself/Host Main Host 2009–11 Drop Dead Diva  Herself  Recurring Cast: Seasons 1-3 2011  Live to Dance  Herself/Judge  Main Judge The X Factor  Herself/Judge  Main Judge: Season 1 2012 I Will Survive  Herself Episode: "Episode #1.14"  Dancing with the Stars  Herself Episode: "Semi-Final Results"  2013-14 RuPaul's Drag Race   Episode: "Reunited" & "Drag Queens of Talk" 2013-16  So You Think You Can Dance  Herself/Judge  Guest Judge: Season 10, Main Judge: Season 12–13 2014  So You Think You Can Dance Australia  Herself/Judge  Main Judge: Season 4 Neighbours  Herself  Episode: "Episode #1.6910" 2015  Real Husbands of Hollywood  Herself  Episode: "Suck My Trick" Strictly Come Dancing  Herself  Episode: "Week Four" 2016    Herself  Episode: "How to Survive Insufficient Funds" Lip Sync Battle  Herself  Episode: "Channing Tatum vs. Jenna Dewan-Tatum" Bookaboo  Herself  Episode: "Bookaboo's Barkin' New Year's Eve" 2017  Fresh Off the Boat  Holly  Episode: "Do You Hear What I Hear?" 2018 Impractical Jokers: After Party  Herself Episode: "Bull Shiatsu" The X Factor   Herself/Adviser Episode: "Judges' Houses 1" 2019 America's Got Talent Herself Episode: "Live Results Finale" 2020 Celebrity Ghost Stories Herself Episode: "Paula Abdul" Impractical Jokers: Dinner Party  Herself Episode: "The Backyard Cookout Episode" 2020-21 The Masked Dancer Herself/Panelist Main Panelist 2021 For Real: The Story of Reality TV  Herself  Episode: "Make It Work" Secret Celebrity Renovation  Herself  Episode: "Paula Abdul" The Movies That Made Us  Herself  Episode: "Coming to America" Superstar  Herself Episode: "George Michael" I Can See Your Voice  Herself/Panelist  The Greatest AtHome Videos  Herself  Episode: "Let Paula Be the Judge" 2022 Janet Jackson  Herself  Episode: "Part 2 & 4" Bling Empire  Herself  Episode: "Adieu ma Chérie" American Rescue Dog Show  Herself/Judge Main Judge Made for Love
| Anydoors 
| Recurring Cast: Season 2
|-
| rowspan=2| 2023
| The Muppets Mayhem Herself  Episode: "Track 7: Eight Days a Week" Luann & Sonja: Welcome to Crappie Lake Herself Episode: "X-Mas in July" & "The Grand Finale"

As Choreographer
+ Music Videos Year  Artist Music Video 1984  The Jacksons  "Torture" 1986  Janet Jackson  "What Have You Done for Me Lately" "Nasty" "When I Think of You" "Control" ZZ Top "Velcro Fly" 1987  Debbie Gibson "Shake Your Love" 2014  Avon "Check Yourself" 

+ Tours Year  Artist Tour 1984  The Jacksons  "Victory Tour"  1988  George Michael "The Faith Tour" 

+ Movies Year  Title  Notes 1987  The Tracey Ullman Show  Won an Emmy Award Dragnet  Can't Buy Me Love   The Running Man  1988  Action Jackson  Coming To America  Big    1989  She's Out of Control  Dance to Win  The Karate Kid Part III  1990  17th American Music Awards  Won an Emmy for her own performance, "(It's Just) The Way That You Love Me" 62nd Academy Awards  "Under the Sea" from 'The Little Mermaid' and "Best Costume Design" category 1991  The Doors  Val Kilmer's choreographer 1996  Jerry Maguire  1999  American Beauty  2001  Black Knight  Reefer Madness Off-Broadway 2003  Zoe's Dance Moves  2009  American Idol  Season 8-Disco Week (Results Show) 2022  1660 Vine  

Awards and honors
 Award Year Category Nominated workResultRef.American Music Awards1990 Favorite Pop/Rock Female ArtistHerself  Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist  Favorite Dance Artist  Favorite Pop/Rock Album Forever Your Girl 1991 Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist Herself 1992 Favorite Pop/Rock Female ArtistHerself  Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist  Favorite Adult Contemporary Album Spellbound Billboard Music Video Awards1989 Best Female Video"Straight Up" https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1989/BB-1989-12-02.pdf Best New Artists Video  Best Editing   Best Choreography  "Cold Hearted" 1990 Best Female Video"Opposites Attract" https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1990/BB-1990-10-13.pdf Best Director   Brit Awards 1990 International Breakthrough Act Herself  Choreographers Carnival 2013 Lifetime Achievement  Herself    Ellis Island Medal of Honor 2019  Herself    GLAAD Gala 2019 Ariadne Getty Ally Herself  Grammy Awards 1990 Best Female Pop Vocal Performance "Straight Up"  1991 Best Short Form Music Video "Opposites Attract"  Hollywood Walk of Fame 1991  Herself    Impact Awards 2022 Herself   Industry Dance Awards 2014 Icon Herself  Juno Awards1990 International Album of the Year Forever Your Girl  International Single of the Year "Straight Up"  Los Angeles Music Awards 1992 Pop Album of the Year  Spellbound  MTV Video Music Awards1987Best Choreography in a Video "Nasty" (by Janet Jackson)  "When I Think of You" (by Janet Jackson) 1989 Best Female Video"Straight Up"  Best New Artist in a Video  Best Dance Video  Breakthrough Video  Best Choreography in a Video  Best Editing in a Video 1990 Best Female Video"Opposites Attract"  Best Dance Video  Breakthrough Video  Best Direction in a Video  Best Choreography in a Video  Best Special Effects in a Video  1991 Best Female Video "Rush Rush" 1995 Best Dance Video"My Love Is for Real"  Best Choreography in a Video  Music Business Association  2017 Harry Chapin Memorial Humanitarian   Herself   National Eating Disorders Association 2005 Profiles in Living  Herself    Nevada Ballet Theatre 2007 Woman of the Year  Herself   Nevada Equality Awards 2019 Ally Leadership  Herself    NewNowNext Awards 2010 Always Next, Forever Now Icon Herself  Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards 1990 Favorite Female Musician/Group Herself    1991 Hall of Fame  Herself   People's Choice Awards 1990Favorite Female Musical PerformerHerself  1991 Primetime Emmy Awards 1988Outstanding ChoreographyThe Tracey Ullman Show  1989  1990 The 17th Annual American Music Awards  2003Outstanding Reality-Competition ProgramAmerican Idol  2004  2005  2006  2007  Revel Dance Convention  2021 Revelation Icon Herself   Shorty Awards 2020 Best Celebrity  Herself    Soul Train Music Awards 1990 Best Song of the Year "Straight Up" Teen Choice Awards 2003 Choice TV: Reality Babe Herself   2004 Choice Reality/Variety TV Star - Female Herself   2005 Choice TV Personality - Female Herself    YMA Fashion Scholarship Fund AMY Awards 2006 Leadership  Herself 

References

Other websites







Category:1962 births
Category:Living people
Category:American dancers
Category:American Idol
Category:American pop musicians
Category:Television personalities from Los Angeles
Category:American choreographers
Category:American Emmy Award winners
Category:American Grammy Award winners
Category:Mezzo-sopranos
Category:Singers from Los Angeles
Category:American contemporary R&B singers
Category:American R&B singers
Category:American pop singers
Category:American new jack swing singers
Category:American hip hop musicians
Category:American dance musicians
Category:American Jews