Paula Abdul

American Pop singer, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality.

About Paula Abdul

Never before has there been an artist who has been equally recognized, awarded and celebrated "in front of the camera" as well as "behind the camera."

Paula Abdul is a ground-breaking choreographer, dancer, songwriter, performer, designer, actor and business woman.

She is a two-time Emmy Award winner, Grammy Award winner, American Music Award winner, and multi-platinum recording artist who has been entertaining her fans for over 30 years.

Her work as choreographer includes her Emmy winning contributions to The Tracey Ullman Show, produced by the Oscar and Emmy Award winner James L. Brooks.

Shortly thereafter, Paula Abdul was double nominated for her ground-breaking choreography for the 62nd Annual Academy Awards and her own performance on the American Music Awards, for which she won an Emmy.

She won seven MTV Awards for her work with Janet Jackson and has also choreographed for Duran Duran, ZZ top, The Jackson Family, George Michael, Luther Vandross, INXS, Heart and Prince.

Choreographing Janet Jackson

In films she has served as choreographer for Patrick Dempsey in Can’t Buy Me Love, she transformed Val Kilmer into the iconic Jim Morrison in The Doors, choreographed the memorable African wedding dance scene with Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall in Coming to America, was the choreographer for Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Running Man, and was able to re-team with her mentor James L. Brooks, who took Paula under his wing at The Tracy Ullman Show transitioning her into the world of choreographing for TV and film, for the Oscar winning performance of Cuba Gooding Jr. in Jerry Maguire.

Paula became a worldwide singing sensation with her first album Forever Your Girl, followed by an astonishing six number 1 singles.

And, only until a few months ago, after being bumped to number 3 by Adele, Paula’s “Forever Your Girl” reigned as the second longest charting album on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.  

Paula has won a Grammy, seven MTV Video Awards, two Emmy Awards, two People’s Choice awards, and sold over 60 million records worldwide.

Paula Abdul w Turnaround Arts Students

We all know her as “America’s Sweetheart” from her eight consecutive seasons on American Idol, which after leaving in 2009, she served as executive producer of CBS’s Live To Dance, followed by her time on The X Factor and as a recurring guest star on the hit Lifetime series Drop Dead Diva.

Paula is an in-demand public speaker, touring the country to bring her own creative passion, drive and work experience to leading companies, organizations, and events, including Pepsico’s Women CEOs, Cigna Health, Greater Miami Jewish Federation for Women, Empower 180, Genius Network, Hudson Union Society and many others.

Paula Abdul is also very active in her community, being a spokesperson for national charity organizations such as the American Humane's Pets and Women's Shelters (PAWS) Program, the foundations of Natural Balance Pet Food and Petco which raises critically needed money for non-profit guide dog schools throughout the country.

Paula is also a spokesperson for the National Eating Disorders Association. Paula courageously speaks out about her own past battles, in hopes of encouraging young women to take the scary, but necessary, steps to seek help.

Abdul has also partnered with Turnaround Arts, a signature program of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, to adopt a school in Brooklyn, New York and to help foster arts education in impoverished schools across the nation.

In 2014, the Avon Foundation for Women asked Abdul to become their Avon Global Ambassador for their international #CheckYourself digital campaign in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month. Alongside the Avon Foundation, Abdul directed, produced, choreographed and starred in the campaign, which garnered half a billion media impressions around the world. Paula Abdul is also a Celebrity Sponsor and Advisor to Wigs & Wishes® By Martino Cartier, a non-profit organization that is dedicated to providing wigs and granting wishes to courageous individuals battling cancer. The cause is personal to Paula. Her sister Wendy is a breast cancer survivor.

Paula Abdul on American Idol

In 2015 Paula was seen as a judge on Season 12 of the U.S. version of “So You Think You Can Dance” and delighted millions with her guest appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden re-creating her "Opposites Attract" music video.

In 2016 Paula made an appearance on Lip Sync Battle with Jenna Dewan-Tatum who re-created Paula’s “Cold Hearted” music video live on stage in front of a live audience and millions of viewers.

Paula Abdul went on a nationwide tour with Boyz II Men and The New Kids on the Block in 2017 performing her hit songs for millions of fans in packed arenas across the country.

In 2018 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of her "Forever Your Girl" album, Paula returned to the stage for her first solo tour in 25 years with the Straight Up Paula! Tour and was named one of Billboard "Top 60 Female Artists of All-Time on the Billboard Hot 100" and "Rush Rush" was #77 on Billboard's list of Top 100 songs of all time.

In 2019 Paula Abdul performed a medley of her greatest hits at the Billboard Music Awards which garnered wild excitement from a celebrity-packed audience and rave reviews online. The performance saw the collected songs Paula performed log a 102% gain in streams. Before the show, Paula announced a Las Vegas Residency show titled "Paula Abdul: Forever Your Girl" opening August 13th at the Flamingo Las Vegas.

Early Life

Paula Abdul with her parents

Paula Julie Abdul was born on June 19th, 1962 in San Fernando, California. Her parents are Harry and Lorraine Abdul. She has a sister named Wendy, who is seven years her senior.

Her parents are both Jewish. Her father (once a livestock trader and later the owner of a sand and gravel business) was born into a Syrian Jewish community in Aleppo, Syria, was raised in Brazil, and immigrated to the United States. Her mother (a concert pianist for a short time and former assistant to film director Billy Wilder) grew up in Manitoba in Canada, and has Ashkenazi Jewish ancestors from Russia and Ukraine. Her parents divorced when she was seven years old.

Paula was inspired at an early age by the film 'Singing In The Rain', and as a young girl her ultimate ambition was to be a successful dancer like her idol Gene Kelly. Subsequently, Abdul began taking dance lessons at an early age in ballet, Jazz, and Tap and she impressed her teachers with her natural ability to dance.

Abdul, Van Nuys High School Cheerleader

Growing up in North Hollywood, CA at age seven she performed in community theater groups, spent summers touring in US theatrical productions and begun studying jazz and tap dance techniques from age ten, to end up winning a scholarship to study under Joe Tramie at the prestigious Bella Lewitzky Dance Company.

Paula attended Van Nuys High School, where she was a cheerleader and an honor student. Following graduation from high school in 1978, Paula Abdul appeared on the small screen in the low-budget Independent movie-musical 'Junior High School'.

At California State University at Northridge, Abdul majored in broadcasting with hopes of becoming a sports broadcaster.  Her career path would change once she auditioned for the Los Angeles Laker Girls.

The Laker Girls

Paula Abdul, Los Angeles Laker Girl

She was selected from a pool of 700 candidates for the cheerleading squad of the Los Angeles Lakers NBA basketball team—the famed Laker Girls. Within a year, she became head choreographer earning $50 per game during her freshman year.

Abdul was discovered by The Jacksons, after a few of the band members had watched her while attending a Los Angeles Lakers game. She signed-on to choreograph the video to their single "Torture".

The success of the choreography in the video paved the way for Abdul's career of choreographer in music videos. Due to the success of the “Torture” video Abdul was chosen to be the choreographer for the Jacksons' Victory tour.

Paula quickly becomes recognized as one of the most talented up-and-coming choreographers in Hollywood and is credited with the choreography of the films 'Private School' (1983) and 'Coming To America' (1988) the smash hit comedy starring Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall. She also choreographed routines for the highly popular TV series 'The Tracy Ullman Show' as well as several TV commercials.

The Jackson's

In 1985 Paula was asked by the head of A&M Records A&R John McClain, to choreograph for Janet Jackson, resulting in the hugely successful dance-step visuals for Janet Jackson's hit singles "When I Think Of You," "Nasty," and "What Have You Done For Me Lately?" from the “Control” album.

During their many rehearsals, Paula would sing along to Janet’s songs while performing the dance routines with Jackson. Janet complimented Paula on her singing and encourages her to pursue a career in the music business.

Forever Your Girl

Forever Your Girl (1988)

In 1987, Paula used her savings to form a girl group and quietly records a demo with three of her friends. Their group was called the 'Cheer Girls.' They sent copies of their demo to several record labels including Warner and Motown Records. Motown didn't think the group had what it took to be successful because, at the time, girl bands were thought to be unpopular.

Label Executives who were busy launching the new Virgin Records America heard about Paula and invited her to dinner to discuss the 'Cheer Girls' demo. They liked the demo but decided they wanted to hear Paula sing solo.

Just as Motown Executives had said, Virgin didn't think girl bands had what it takes to be popular. They asked Paula to go back into the studio – this time alone to record the song. She did as they requested and days later Virgin Records signed her onto their label.

Label Executives informed Paula she would have to work quickly preparing the album because they wanted it ready for a summer release. She would record the album at night, working on choreography projects during the day.

The completed album would be called "Forever Your Girl."

"Knocked Out" music video

The first single and first song Paula recorded, “Knocked Out” was written and produced by Babyface, L.A. Reid and Daryl Simmons. The song was originally included on a Virgin Records sampler for the launch of Virgin Records America.

In the spring of 1988 "Knocked Out" was released as a single to test Abdul's commercial appeal. It proved to be very successful for a low budget single.

Paula's "Forever Your Girl" album hit music stores in June 1988, along with the follow-up single "The Way That You Love Me." The song failed to attract much attention, despite its dance-pop remix, and it further alienated the small R&B fan base that "Knocked Out" had generated. The song stalled at #88 on the Billboard Hot 100. Both songs received radio airplay, but neither managed to reach the Top 40 charts.

In 1989 Virgin and Abdul's producers felt that it was necessary to remix The Way That You Love Me for its single re-release, hence the addition of “(It's Just)” to the song's title. This time, it became a huge success, peaking at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 on December 2, 1989.

"The Way That You Love Me" music video

In the late summer of 1988, without having a hit, it seemed as if the "Forever Your Girl" album was a flop. Six months later, Virgin Records executives were in the process of reorganizing the label’s roster of artists. Due to Forever Your Girl’s failure to launch, Abdul’s record contract was on the chopping block.

As quoted in “Virgin: A History Of Virgin Records” by Terry Southern, Simon Draper, a Co-founder of Virgin Records says “[Paula] had quite a big success for Virgin America- but they were still losing money- and suddenly, and seemingly quite miraculously, she took off. I went out to America with Kenny for a big crisis meeting with Jordan and Jeff (top American execs) worried about the amount of money they were spending; we were to go through their artists’ roster with them. One of the artists they were getting ready to drop was Paula Abdul; they were spending all this money on her and it hadn’t really happened. It’s unbelievable, but at lunchtime we sat in on a marketing meeting where they were arguing about this remix of her single [“The Way That You Love Me”], and on that same day the things suddenly started to turn around, orders started to pile in, and the record took off like a rocket- the record played a major role in establishing Virgin America – but it was close! Another week and they might have got rid of her.”

It was during this meeting one of the Executives turned on the radio to hear Abdul’s “Straight Up” playing. Radio station KMEL in San Francisco had started playing "Straight Up" (the b-side of "The Way That You Love Me") and the song began charting immediately.

Virgin decided to abandon "The Way That You Love Me" and refocus its attention on "Straight Up".

"Straight Up" music video

It took “Forever Your Girl” 64 weeks to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album sales chart— the longest an album has been on the market before hitting No. 1— and it spent 10 weeks there.

And, only until a few months ago, after being bumped to number 3 by Adele, Paula’s “Forever Your Girl” reigned as the second longest charting album on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The album eventually became multi-platinum in the spring and summer of 1989, and it spawned five American Top Three singles, four of them No. 1s (three in 1989 and one in 1990): "Straight Up", "Forever Your Girl", "Cold Hearted", and "Opposites Attract".

A remix album, Shut Up and Dance, was also released and peaked at No. 7 on Billboard's album chart, becoming one of the most successful remix albums to date.

Spellbound and a World Tour

Spellbound (1991)

In early 1991, Yvette Marine, backing vocalist on “Forever Your Girl”, claimed that she sang "co-lead vocals" on the album and sued Abdul and Virgin Records for compensation. After one month of court proceedings, Abdul and Virgin won the case.

Abdul's follow-up album to "Forever Your Girl", was 1991's "Spellbound" which contained another string of hits, and sold over 7 million copies worldwide.

The first single from Spellbound was the ballad, "Rush Rush," which topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five consecutive weeks, and featured a music video themed after the movie Rebel Without a Cause and starred Keanu Reeves in the James Dean role.

"The Promise of a New Day", the second release from the album, also hit No. 1, and was followed by the Top 10 hit "Blowing Kisses in the Wind" and two Top 20 hits: "Vibeology" and "Will You Marry Me?"

Rush Rush music video with Keanu Reeves

Abdul promoted the album through the "Under My Spell Tour", which was named by an MTV contest for fans. This tour was nearly cancelled due to an accident during rehearsals.

The world tour began on schedule and ran from October 1991 to the summer of 1992. In 1991, Abdul embraced advertising and starred in a popular Diet Coke commercial in which she danced with a digital image of her idol, a young Gene Kelly.

It was around this time when problems in Paula's personal and professional life began to cloud her career including a management shake-up during the releases of “Blowing Kisses in the Wind” and “Vibeology.” Abdul was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in December 1991.

Paula continued to make headlines with her highly publicized marriage to Emilo Estevez—they married on April 29th, 1992. That same year Paula confessed to suffering from bulimia, an eating disorder, and checked herself into a clinic.

She divorced Emilo Estevez in May 1994, citing irreconcilable differences, although they remain friendly to this day.

Head Over Heels

Head Over Heels (1995)

Paula began recording songs for her third studio album in 1994. By 1995, Paula Abdul had recovered from her battle with the eating disorder bulimia and prepared to return to the spotlight with her new album "Head Over Heels," a bold departure from her first two studio albums.

Three singles were released from “Head Over Heels”, including “My Love Is For Real,” “Crazy Cool,” and “Ain't Never Gonna You Up” all of which failed to crack the Top 20.

Due to a lack of promotion by Virgin Records, 'Head Over Heels' peaked at just 18 on the Billboard 100. The album had managed to sell just under 3 million copies worldwide, her lowest selling studio album (in terms of international sales) in her career.  After the relative failure of the album, Abdul left the music scene.

Acting Debut and "Spinning Around"

Abdul's acting debut in "Touched by Evil"

In October 1996 Paula engaged and married Brad Beckerman, heir to the clothing giant, Starter, in a whirlwind romance after they were set up on a blind date by a mutual friend. They divorced just seventeen months later citing irreconcilable differences.

In January 1997 Paula ventured into TV, making her adult acting debut with ABC's Sunday Night Movie "Touched By Evil", the true story of woman who discovers that her boyfriend is a rapist.

Paula went on to make appearances on 'Spin City' and 'The Wayans Bros.' Sitcoms and also appeared on NBC's 'Mr. Rock & Roll: The Allen Freed Story', the cable TV movie 'The Waiting Game', NBC's 'Saturday Night Live', and guest-starring on ABC's 'Muppets Tonight' and 'Sabrina The Teenage Witch'.

In 1997 Paula was signed to Mercury Records and begun recording her follow-up album to “Head Over Heels” including two new songs for a planned “Greatest Hits” album with Virgin Records.

Abdul co-wrote #1 hit "Spinning Around"

Unfortunately, due to corporate restructuring Abdul was dropped for the label before she could complete her album.

That same year, Abdul co-wrote the song "Spinning Around" (about her divorce from Beckerman) with songwriter and producer Kara DioGuardi, who became a fellow judge on American Idol in 2009.

"Spinning Around" was a dance-pop track intended to be the lead single on Abdul's follow-up album to Head Over Heels.

Paula’s album never materialized, and a demo for "Spinning Around" was found by Kylie Minogue’s A&R agent in New York and was immediately recorded by Kylie for her anticipated comeback album, 2000’s “Light Years”.

The song was extremely successful, reaching No. 1 in numerous countries worldwide. It debuted at number one on the ARIA Singles Chart and won the 2000 ARIA Music Award for Best Pop Release.

Dance!

Paula Abdul's Cardio Dance (1998)

In 1998 Abdul released an aerobic video titled “Cardio Dance”, a follow up to her critically acclaimed “Get Up and Dance” video released in 1995. She has also co-founded Company Dance, a prestigious dance organization that featured Abdul's back-up dancers Nancy O’Meara and Tyce Diorio among many others.

A starring role in the Broadway musical “Sweet Charity” planned to open during the 99-00 season was postponed indefinitely due to production problems.

While Abdul took a break from the music industry, she remained busy behind the scenes. Abdul served as the choreographer for several productions, including the 1998 musical "Reefer Madness" and the cheerleading scenes in the 1999 film "American Beauty."

Abdul also co-produced a 2001 pilot episode of "Skirts," a dramatic series that would have aired on MTV about a high-school cheerleading squad; Abdul was also set to appear as the head coach. The pilot never aired.

In 2000 Virgin Records released a “Paula Abdul’s Greatest Hits” package containing all 14 of Abdul's hit songs including the song "Bend Time Back 'Round" which had previously been heard only on the 1992 soundtrack for the hit television series Beverly Hills, 90210 along with fan favorite, "Crazy Love", a b-side found on the Japanese-only import version of "Head Over Heels."

American Idol

Randy, Paula and Simon

In 2002, Abdul appeared as one of three judges for the reality television music competition show American Idol. Abdul, along with fellow judges Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson, evaluated thousands of amateur contestants in their ability to sing. Abdul won praise as a sympathetic and compassionate judge.

While serving as a judge on American Idol, Abdul signed on a as reporter for Entertainment Tonight.

In March 2006, Fox announced that Abdul had signed to stay on American Idol as a judge for at least three more years. Later that year, fellow American Idol judge Simon Cowell invited her to be a guest judge at some of the early auditions for the third series of his similar UK talent show The X Factor. Abdul was present at the initial audition of the eventual winner, Leona Lewis.

In 2007 Virgin Records released a second greatest-hits album titled “Greatest Hits: Straight Up.”  Also in 2007 Bravo began airing the reality television series "Hey Paula," which followed Abdul through her day-to-day life. The series was produced by Scott Sternberg Productions and debuted on June 28, 2007. The show aired for only one season.

New Music

"Dance Like There's No Tomorrow"

In 2007, Paula Abdul Jewelry launched its nationwide consumer debut on QVC, with the tagline "fashion jewelry designed with heart and soul." Abdul's first QVC appearance resulted in 15 sellouts of her first jewelry collection involving more than 34,000 pieces.

In January 2008, Abdul returned to the music charts for the first time in nearly 13 years with the single "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow," the first track on the album Randy Jackson's Music Club Vol 1.

"Dance Like There's No Tomorrow" debuted on On Air with Ryan Seacrest, and Abdul performed it during the pre-game show for Super Bowl XLII. The song was a modest comeback hit for Abdul, peaking at No. 62 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 11 on iTunes and No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play charts.

In January 2009, Abdul hosted "RAH!," a 90-minute cheerleading competition on MTV. "RAH!" featured five collegiate squads competing in a series of challenges with Abdul crowning one the winner.

In May 2009, Abdul debuted her latest song "I'm Just Here for the Music" on the Ryan Seacrest Radio KIIS-FM show and performed the single on the American Idol results show. "I'm Just Here for the Music" reached No. 87 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Abdul's 15th song to appear on the chart.

Live To Dance and The X Factor

The X Factor

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times on July 18, 2009, Abdul's manager David Sonenberg told the newspaper that, "Very sadly, it does not appear that she’s going to be back on ‘Idol’." This came about as a result of stalled negotiations between Abdul and the show. On August 4, 2009, after numerous contract negotiations, Abdul confirmed that she would not be returning to Idol for its ninth season.

Abdul started off 2011 by serving as lead judge, executive producer, creative partner, mentor and coach on CBS' new dancing competition, Live to Dance (formerly Got to Dance). After its first season of seven weekly shows, it was canceled by CBS. During this time Abdul has also established a role as a recurring guest star on the Lifetime series Drop Dead Diva.

On May 8, 2011, it was announced that Abdul would rejoin Simon Cowell on the first season of the American version of The X Factor. The judging panel consisted of Abdul, Cowell, music executive L.A. Reid, and former Pussycat Dolls lead singer Nicole Scherzinger. The series premiered on September 21, 2011. Abdul was the mentor for the "Groups" category.

During the Judges' Houses stage of the competition, Abdul was aided by guest judge Pharrell Williams in Santa Barbara, California. Abdul's contestants were all eliminated from the competition, her final act Lakoda Rayne were eliminated by the public vote on week five of the Live Shows. They were the Groups category's most successful act. In January 2012, Abdul announced that she would not be returning as a judge for the show's second season.

"Dream Medley" on DWTS

In 2011, Paula Abdul announced a collaboration with Finnish duo Mikko Pykäri and Sami Suova (aka Shine 2009) on the single “So Free”.

On October 15, 2012, Abdul served as a guest judge during week four of the All-Stars version of Dancing with the Stars. In week seven, she performed the "Dream Medley", a visual compilation of four of her No. 1 hit singles including "Straight Up", "Cold Hearted", "Forever Your Girl" and "Opposites Attract". The medley was then released to iTunes as a digital download.

On April 18, 2013, Abdul appeared on the Top 5 results show of season 12 of American Idol to compliment contestant Candice Glover on her performance of Straight Up.

On July 9, 2013, Abdul was a guest judge on So You Think You Can Dance (Season 10).

So You Think You Can Dance

So You Think You Can Dance

In October 2013, Abdul was named as a judge on the revamped So You Think You Can Dance Australia, which aired on Network Ten in February 2014.

In November 20th, 2013 Paula took a long-awaited journey to Israel and is named an "Honorary Ambassador".

February 24th, 2014, Paula appeared as a judge on Season 6 of RuPaul's Drag Race on LOGO TV.

In October 1st, 2014 Paula collaborated with the Avon Foundation for a PSA and debuted a new song and music video called "Check Yourself" in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

June 1st, 2015 Paula Abdul appears as a judge on Season 12 of So You Think You Can Dance and recently made a guest appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden re-creating her Opposites Attract music video, with Corden playing the role of MC Skat Kat.

On The Road Again

Abdul on stage in concert

In 2016 Paula made an appearance on Lip Sync Battle with Jenna Dewan-Tatum who re-created Paula’s “Cold Hearted” music video live on stage in front of a live audience and millions of viewers. She also made an appearance on the final season of American Idol.

Paula Abdul also returned to the live concert stage for the first time in over 20 years to perform her hit songs at the 2016 Mixtape Festival at Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey, PA.

In 2017 Paula Abdul hit the road with New Kids on the Block and Boys II Men for "The Total Package Tour," where Paula performed her hit songs to sold out audiences in over 40 cities nationwide. She also made a guest appearance on "Fresh Off the Boat."

In 2018 Paula announced her first solo North American tour in 25 years titled “Straight Up Paula! Tour” where she visited 26 cities over 7 weeks with additional performances scheduled into 2019.

In May 2019 Paula performed her hit songs at the BBMA's. In June she will be headlining LA Pride Weekend's opening ceremony concert and announced a Las Vegas Residency at the Flamingo starting in August 2019.

In 2020 Paula Abdul wrapped up the first leg of her Vegas residency and made an appearance as a major plot point in the Impractical Jokers theatrical film debut.  Paula became a national spokeswoman for Voltaren Arthritis Pain Gel and teamed with friend Martino Cartier to launch the Forever Your Curl styling tool on HSN. She will end 2020 as a panel judge on "The Masked Dancer" TV series on FOX.

Awards

Emmy Award:
• 1989 "Best Choreography of a TV Series" on "The Tracey Ullman Show."
• 1990 "Outstanding Achievement in Choreography" for "The 17th American Music Awards."

Grammy Awards:
• 1993 "Best Album Package" for "Spellbound - Compact" CD in the shape of a compact awarded to Art Director Melanie Nissen.
• 1991 "Best Music Video - Short Form" for "Opposites Attract."

People's Choice Award:
• 1991 for "Favorite Female Musical Performer"
• 1990 for "Favorite Female Musical Performer"
• 1989 won for "Favorite Female Musical Performer"

American Music Awards:
• 1992 for "Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist"
• 1990 for "Favorite Dance Artist"
• 1990 for "Favorite Pop-Rock Female"
• 1987 for choreography on ZZ Top's "Velcro Fly" video

American Dance Award:
• 1990 for "Choreographer of the Year"

MTV Video Music Awards:
• 1989 for "Best Female Video" in "Straight Up" video.
• 1989 for "Best Dance Video" in "Straight Up" video.
• 1989 for "Best Choreography in a Video" "Straight Up".
• 1989 for "Best Editing in a Video" in "Straight Up" music video.
• 1987 for "Best Choreography" in Janet Jackson's "Nasty" music video.
• 1987 nominated for Best Choreography in a Video (Janet Jackson's "When I Think of You" music video.)

Soul Train Awards:
• 1989 nominated for "Best Video" ("Straight Up")
• 1989 for "Best Choreography" ("Straight Up")

Other Awards and Honors:
• 1991 Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
• 1991 First artist inducted into Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Hall of Fame
• 2002 Little Scholars Lifetime Achievement Award
• 2003 Teen Choice Awards "Reality Babe"
• 2007 Nevada Ballet Theatre's Woman of the Year
• 2008 Tremaine National Gala - 2008 Entertainer of the Year
• 2013 The Carnival: Choreographer's Ball Lifetime Achievement Award
• 2015 World Choreography Award for "Check Yourself"
• 2017 The Music Business Association - Harry Chapin Memorial Humanitarian Award
• 2019: Ellis Island Medal of Honor
• 2019 Ariadne Getty Ally Award
• 2019: Nevada Equality Award

Career Highlights

Discography: Full Length LP's

1. Forever Your Girl (1988)
2. Shut Up And Dance (1990)
3. Spellbound (1991)
4. Head Over Heels (1995)
5. The Greatest : Limited Edition [Japan] (1998)
6. Paula Abdul's Greatest Hits (2000)
7. Greatest Hits: Straight Up (2007)

Discography: Singles

1. Knocked Out
2. (It’s Just) The Way That You Love Me
3. Straight Up
4. Forever Your Girl
5. Cold Hearted
6. The Way That You Love Me (re-released)
7. Opposites Attract
8. Rush Rush
9. The Promise of a New Day
10. Vibeology
11. Blowing Kisses In The Wind
12. Will You Marry Me?
13. My Love is For Real
14. Crazy Cool
15. Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up
16. Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow
17. I’m Just Here For The Music
18. Dream Medley
19. Check Yourself (PSA)

Discography: Special Appearances

1. Beverly Hills 90210- The Soundtrack
2. For Our Children- The Album
3. For Our Children- The Concert (album)
4. Shine 2009’s single “So Free” (2011)

Discography: Co-writer

1. Co-wrote "Ooh La La La" recorded by "Nobody's Angel" (2000)
2. Co-wrote "Spinning Around" recorded by Kylie Minogue (1999)

Videography: Music Videos

1. Knocked Out
2. The Way That You Love Me
3. Straight Up
4. Forever Your Girl
5. Cold Hearted
6. (It's Just) The Way That You Love Me (re-released)
7. Opposites Attract
8. Skat Strut
9. Zip-a-dee-doo-dah
10. Rush Rush
11. The Promise of a New Day
12. Vibeology
13. Blowing Kisses In The Wind
14. Will You Marry Me?
15. My Love is For Real
16. Crazy Cool
17. Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up
18. Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow
19. Check Yourself

Concert Shows and Tours

1. Club MTV Live Tour (1989)
2. Paula Abdul's Under My Spell World Tour (1991-1993)
3. Mixtape Festival (2016)
4. The Total Package Tour (2017)
5. Straight Up Paula! Tour (2018)
6. LA Pride Weekend Opening Ceremony Concert (2019)
7. Paula Abdul's "Forever Your Girl" Las Vegas Residency (2019/2020)

Live Music Appearances

1. 1989 MTV Video Music Awards (Medley of Hits)
2. 1990 American Music Awards (The Way That You Love Me)
3. Frank Sinatra's 80th Birthday Celebration (1995) "Luck Be A Lady"
4. Muppets Tonight (1997) "Opposites Attract" / "Lean On Me"
5. Dance Like There's No Tomorrow Super Bowl Pre-Show (2008)
6. Here For The Music [Live Performance] on American Idol (2009)
7. Dream Medley on Dancing with the Stars (2012)
8. The Late Late Show with James Cordon "Opposites Attract" (2015)
9. Lip Sync Battle performance with Jenna Dewan (2016)
10. The Late Late Show with James Cordon "Straight Up" (2018)
11. Billboard Music Awards featured performer (2019)
and many more.

Filmography: TV/Video

1. Junior High School (1978/81)
2. Paula Abdul - Straight Up Documentary (1989)
3. Captivated Video Collection 92' (1992)
4. Under My Spell 'Live in Japan' (1993)
5. Get Up & Dance (1995)
6. Touched By Evil (1997)
7. The Waiting Game (1998)
8. Cardio Dance (1998)
9. Mr. Rock 'n' Roll: The Alan Freed Story (1999)
10. American Idol: [Season 1] (2002)
11. American Idol: [Season 2] (2003)
12. Zoe’s Dance Moves (2003)
13. American Idol: [Season 3] (2004)
14. American Idol: [Season 4] (2005)
15. American Idol: [Season 5] (2006)
16. American Idol: [Season 6] (2007)
17. American Idol: [Season 7] (2008)
18. Paula Abdul: Video Hits (2005)
19. Ultimate Voice Coach (2005)
20. Cardio Cheer (2006)
21. Hey Paula (2007)
22. RAH! Cheerleading Bowl (2009)
23. The X Factor (US) (2011)
24. Live to Dance (2011)
25. So You Think You Can Dance AU (2014)
26. RuPaul’s Drag Race (Season 6) (2014)
27. So You Think You Can Dance (Season 12) 2015
28. The Masked Dancer (2020-)

Choreography Projects: Film

1. Private School (1983)
2. Can't Buy Me Love (1987)
3. The Tracy Ullman Show (1987)
4. Running Man (1987)
5. Dragnet (1987)
6. Big (1988)
7. Coming to America (1988)
8. Bull Durham (1988)
9. She's Out of Control (1989)
10. Karate Kid III (1989)
11. The Doors (1991)
12. Jerry Maguire (1997)
13. American Beauty (1999)
14. Various Academy Awards Choreography Projects
15. Various American Music Awards Choreography
16. Reefer Madness (Broadway, 2000)
17. Black Knight (2001)
18. Master of Disguise (2002)

Music Video Choreography/Collaborations:

1. The Jackson's "Torture" (1984)
2. Steve Winwood "Roll With It" (1988)
3. ZZ Top "Velcro Fly" (1986)
4. Janet Jackson "Control" (1986)
5. Janet Jackson "Nasty" (1986)
6. Janet Jackson "What Have You Done for Me Lately?"
7. Janet Jackson "When I Think of You" (1986)
8. Duran Duran ("Notorious" video)
9. INXS
10. Kool & the Gang
11. Jermaine Jackson
12. George Michael ("Faith" Tour)
13. Dolly Parton
14. Prince ("Batman" video)
15. The Pointer Sisters
16. Debbie Gibson ("Shake Your Love" video)
17. Aretha Franklin
18. Luther Vandross
19. Lakergirls

Special Appearances: Music Videos

1. Garth Brooks video "We Shall Be Free"
2. Michael Jackson's music video "Liberian Girl"
3. Toto's "Till the End" music video
4. OutKast's "Roses" music video
5. Marshmello's "Tell Me" music video
6. Ariana Grande & Justin Bieber's "Stuck with U" video

Special Appearances: Television

1. The Truth About AIDS (1992)
2. For Our Children -The Concert (1993)
3. Cybill (1995)
4. The Single Guy (1995)
5. Muppets Tonight (1996)
6. Spin City (1996)
7. SNL "Paula Abdul's Cheerleading Camp" (1998)
8. Chicken Soup For The Soul (1998)
9. Co. Dance 1999 Championships
10. Sabrina, The Teenage Witch ('99)
11. Wayans Brothers (1999)
12. Family Guy / 2 episodes (1999)
13. VH1's 100 Greatest Dance Songs (host; 2000)
14. Good Day L.A. (co-hosts occasionally 2001-current)
15. Entertainment Tonight (Idol correspondent/co-host)
16. That's So Raven (2004)
17. Less Than Perfect (2005)
18. Romy and Michele: In the Beginning TV Movie (2005)
19. The X Factor (UK) Guest Judge / 3 episodes (2006)
20. Hotel Babylon (Herself) Series 3 Episode 1 (2008)
21. Drop Dead Diva (Herself) 4 episodes, Seasons 1-3 (2009-2014)
22. Dancing with the Stars (Guest Judge) Week 4 (2012)
23. So You Think You Can Dance (US) (Guest Judge) Finals, Week 3 (2013)
24. X Factor Around the World (Judge) (2013)
25. The Late Late Show with James Cordon (2015)
26. Lip Sync Battle (2016)
27. "Best Wishes, Warmest Regards" (2020)
28. A&E Celebrity Ghost Stories (Herself, 2020)

Special Appearances: Film / Lead Actress

1. Touched By Evil (1997)
2. The Waiting Game (1998)
3. Mr. Rock 'n' Roll: The Alan Freed Story (1999)
4. Robots (2005)
5. Brüno (2009)
6. A Sister's Secret (2018)
7. Impractical Jokers: The Movie (2020)

Special Appearances: Other

1. TV Commercials for Diet Coke (1989-1990)
2. Print Advertising for LA Gear 1990
3. Print Advertising for Reebok 1990
4. Print Advertising for AVON
5. HSN Home Shopping Network appearances
5. Various national and international magazine publications
6. Co-Executive Producer "Caught In Providence"
7
Voltaren Arthritis Pain Gel commercial (2020)
8. Cover of VULKAN Magazine (2020)

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