About Paula Abdul

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.