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
im Syrian and French Canadian…and im white…
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
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
in summary she is just middle eastern in origin being of Syrian and Jewish ancestry.
so paula is a creole? or is she just middle eastern?