Paula Julie Abdul is an American, multi-platinum selling, Grammy Award-winning singer, dancer, television personality, jewelry designer, actress, and Emmy Award-winning choreographer. Married to Emilio Estevez between 1992-1994, she is the former daughter-in-law of actor Martin Sheen.
In the 1970s, Abdul rose from being a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers NBA basketball team to being a sought-after choreographer at the height of the music video era, then to being a Pop-R&B singer with a string of hits in the late-1980s and early-1990s. 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 2000s as a judge on the television series, American Idol. A new album by Abdul is reportedly set to be released in mid-2008.