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Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality. In the 1980s, Abdul rose from cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers to highly sought-after choreographer at the height of the music video era before scoring a string of pop music-R&B hits in the late-1980s and early-1990s. Her six number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 tie her for fifth among the female solo performers who have reached #1 there. She won a Grammy for “Best Music Video – Short Form” for “Opposites Attract” and twice won the “Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography”. After her initial period of success, she suffered a series of setbacks in her professional and personal life, until she found renewed fame and success in the early years of the 21st century as a judge on the television series, American Idol, for eight years, before departing from the show. Abdul had moved on to another television series, CBS‘s Live to Dance, which debuted in January 2011. The series has since been canceled. Following her judging role in Live to Dance, Abdul moved to the first season of American version of The X Factor with her former American Idol co-judge Simon Cowell which premiered on September 21, 2011.