Paula Abdul
Birth Name:
Paula Julie Abdul
Birth Place:
San Fransisco California
Date of Birth:
June 19, 1962
What Race or Ethnicity:
Jewish Syrian and Jewish French Canadian
Despite many people believing Abdul is Black, her father Harry Abdul, was a Syrian Jew who immigrated to Brazil and then to the U.S. while her mother Lorraine Rykiss is also Jewish and originally from Saint Boniface, Winnipeg, Canada. Paula’s nationality is American.
Abdul has been quoted saying her mother is French-Canadian and her father is Brazilian-Syrian. Many people may associate her with the Black community because of her style of music.
In a book called The Portable Jewish Mother, it states that Abdul’s father is a Sephardic Jew and her mom is an Ashkenazi Jew.
An Abdul associate says: “I can’t say that this is a Black woman totally, but the major part of her early success came from the Black community, and her identity is definitely with Blacks.”
Source:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3328923,00.html
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_n5_v45/ai_8540133
Celebrities with similar heritage:
September 5th, 2008
then whey does she have a muslim name and surname?she looks very middle eastern to me
September 5th, 2008
She is middle Eastern. Her father is from Syria but he is Jewish Syrian.
November 18th, 2008
Not everyone with an Arab sounding name is a Muslim. The historical language of the “Middle East” is Arabic. Please jump into the 21st century, the water’s fine.
January 16th, 2009
Abduallah means the slave of God … this is the most commonly used for for Abdul and it is never used alone. He must have dropped part of his name to make it easier to write. Us Arabs weather we are muslims chrisitans or Jew pray to God Allah in arabic.
January 16th, 2009
great comment. thanks for that.
January 25th, 2009
Although Abdullah is commonly considered to be the complete word, Adbul is also used very frequently names. Abdul means slave and Allah means God, hence Abdullah means slave of God. So if only ‘Abdul’ is used, it means slave.
No wonder many people think Paula has Black roots as well…
January 28th, 2009
Paula Abdul’s father is a Sephardic Jew and her mom is an Ashkenazi Jew (i think…)
January 28th, 2009
“Paula Abdul’s father is a Sephardic Jew and her mom is an Ashkenazi Jew”
thanks your right on that one. i just updated the profile.
March 2nd, 2009
Syrian is a caucasian ethnicity, as are the Lebanese & most Middle Eastern people. Paula is white on both sides, just not Anglo-Saxon.
April 10th, 2009
I am arabic(jordanian palestinian) from my fathers side and nicaraguan from my mothers side. I speak spanish and I know a few words in arabic. I am also learning german.
April 27th, 2009
so paula is a creole? or is she just middle eastern?
April 27th, 2009
in summary she is just middle eastern in origin being of Syrian and Jewish ancestry.
May 3rd, 2009
Abdul is, without a doubt, arabic for “Slave of” or “Wirshipper of”. As you can see, “Abdul” alone does not make sense if used alone (According to Arabic). However, many Arab-Americans (Like myself), use short names just to make it easy to pronounce. So “Abdul” can be short for an Arabic name (Not necessary “Abdullah”). There are tons of Arabic names that start with “Abdul”. In conclusion, I would say Paula Abdul is a Caucasian, half Arab & half Canadian. “Jewish” is not really a race but rather a religion. Syrian is also a nationality not a race either. Syrians are mostly caucasians. At the end, who cares what race she is! What matters is her personality and what she stands for and her impact on society. Color or race is only for us to distinguish between one another (We can’t all look the same). Thanks
May 7th, 2009
Who cares what ethnicity Paula Abdul is. This woman is arguably one of the
beautiful females both inside and out that has graced the entertainment
community. Talent, beauty and and beautiful spirit emanates from inside
of her which only manifests her natural beauty even more. She is so vulnerable
yet crystaline. The world would be a better place with more Paula Abduls and
less concerns of ethnicity
May 27th, 2009
im Syrian and French Canadian…and im white…
September 18th, 2009
who cares!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
September 18th, 2009
She has a unique look so Im not surprised that people are curious about her ethnicity.
November 1st, 2009
Christians don’t pray to Allah, we don’t believe in Allah. Our Lord is Jesus Christ the only Son of God. We are His slaves, yet He set us free, but we love Him so much that we are willing to give our lives for HIM and serve Him. He gives us the freedom to enjoy life and enjoy Him in peace and happiness. A true Christian loves others and does not hate anyone who is different. We are not afraid of other religions because we don’t believe in religion. Christianity is not a religion, it is relationship with the MOST HIGH GOD! Unfortunately almost all “Christian churches” misrepresent christianity and it’s true meaning.
November 6th, 2009
Jesus did everything in the open and it doesn’t cost one dime to belive in HIM and go HIGHER. He’s as HIGH as you can go people and it’s AWESOME AND ALL FREE.
November 10th, 2009
hei we talk about Ethnicity not religion,but when u said “A true Christian loves others and does not hate anyone who is different. We are not afraid of other religions because we don’t believe in religion” u mean r Islam?…come on,don’t say u r such a tolerate while in the same time u only think ur religion r the best,the rightest other especially Islam r the otherwise…don’t u remember Nazi?…they r christians but they kill many jews,remember Ku Klux Klan?…oww don’t say they r moslem or jews lol,remember many European kingdoms with their kings/queens? they r christians but kill so many in Africa,Asia countries…next time before u judge others please judge urself & ur fellow christians,ty
November 12th, 2009
I agree we should be talking ethnicity.
December 1st, 2009
Her birthdate is wrong. Shes 52 or 53. If it was right, she would be the same age as my daddy. But i remember a few years ago she turned 50.
December 1st, 2009
hmm most sites say 1962.
December 2nd, 2009
Nope. I know for a definate shes in her 50’s. They announced her fiftieth birthday on american idol two or three years back. But most stars are older than they claim to be. Thats hollywood for you though.
December 3rd, 2009
Id like to see that video. i wonder if its on Youtube?
December 23rd, 2009
Paula,
We are proud to have you as part of the Black Community and that is the race that you identify with. Maybe you can teach Tiger Woods to be proud of his heritage. That boy has a problem! Paula you are the BOMB!
January 8th, 2010
that arabian knight dude is smart.
January 24th, 2010
Paula’s 47 years old. What are you talking about ‘in her 50’s? The only time she’s said she was 50 on American Idol is when Simon jokes about her age, even though HE just turned 50.
January 24th, 2010
yeh Thats what I thought.
February 21st, 2010
to me she’s always a beautiful woman inside & out, i just love me some paula abdul. she looks spanish but she’s not. paula abdul looks more of her dad. i been a big fan of hers since ‘89 and still is. i know she dances like a black person and that’s all. i believe hen she says she’s not a black person. i really miss her so freakin’ bad on a. i. please come baby.