Paula Abdul
Abdul in 2011, joe seer/bigstock.com
Birth Name: Paula Julie Abdul
Place of Birth: San Fernando, Los Angeles, California, United States
Date of Birth: June 19, 1962
Ethnicity:
*father – Syrian Jewish
*mother – Ukrainian Jewish, Russian Jewish
Paula Abdul is an American dancer, choreographer, singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. She is known for being a judge on the show American Idol.
Paula’s father, Harry Abdul, was a Syrian Jew from Aleppo, who emigrated to Brazil, and then to the U.S. Paula’s mother, Lorraine (Rykiss), is Ashkenazi Jewish, and is originally from Saint Boniface, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. All four of Paula’s maternal great-grandparents were born in Eastern Europe, Russia and Ukraine.
Some have associated her with the black community, because of her style of music.
Paula’s maternal grandfather was William Alexander Rykiss (the son of Avram/Avraham Rykiss and Bessie Peshe “Passy” Malamed). William was born in Katerburg, Ukraine. Bessie was the daughter of Moishe Malamed and Dvora/Dovrah Berg.
Paula’s maternal grandmother was Sally/Sarah Naomi Riceberg (the daughter of Moishe Leib “Maurice” Riceberg and Mariam Goldbreski/Golubitsky). Sally was born in Manitoba, Canada, to parents who were born in Russia and Ovruch, Ukraine.
Sources: Genealogy of Paula Abdul – https://www.geni.com
Genealogy of Paula Abdul (focusing on her mother’s side) – http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com
Paula talks about being Jewish – http://www.ynetnews.com
Paula Abdul is a Syrian Arab-Jewish/Ashkenazi of Brazilian and Canadian origins, but in her career, she passed off as she’s Black, Mexican or Chicano, or some say she looked Indigenous or a bit “Asian/Filipino” (on the B&W music vid “straight up and tell me”) and finally, “multiethnic”. The info posted here states she’s Jewish or comparable to Tara Strong, who was born in Canada of solely Jewish heritage, and so is Paul Anka of non-Jewish Lebanese.
What is it about you Americans when describing other countries for the origins of people? You quote that Abduls mother came from “Saint Boniface, Winnipeg Canada? THATS WRONG! She came from St. Boniface, which is a suburb of Winnipeg in the province of Manitoba, Canada!!! I certainly never read that someone came from Van Nuys, Los Angeles, USA…..No, you always seem to get it right when it is your country.
You should update her ethnicity: “Syrian Jewish” (father), to “Sephardi Jewish”
and the *Ukrainian Jewish, Russian Jewish” (mother), to “Ashkenazi Jewish”
Syrian Jews can be Sephardi or Mizrahi.
Syrian-Jewish is actually BOTH Sephardi and Mizrahi, at the same time.
They only ‘pure’ Mizrahi Jewish ethnicity that isn’t Sephardic as well, are the Yemenite-Jewish.