CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: During her 2013 visit to Israel, Abdul met a camel, vis-
ited the Kotel and met then-president Shimon Peres, who told her, “You cannot hate
when singing … singing is basically a positive language.” She also swam in the Dead
Sea and wrote a message in the visitors’ book in the Hall of Names in Yad Vashem.
“people perceived me as this girl-
next-door type. They didn’t think I
should be doing such a sexy video
because it would scare people. So I
was challenged with knowing how
to go right to the edge, but also how
to rein myself back in. I knew I had
a chance to really show people that
I know how to choreograph and that
I can really dance — and not take
myself too seriously.”
After a music career that earned
her six No. 1 singles in the late
’80s and early ’90s (as well as a
Grammy for Best Musical Video
for “Opposites Attract,” in which
she danced with an animated cat,
and a Diet Coke commercial that
paired her with a digital image of
her idol, Gene Kelly), Abdul earned
a reputation as a quirky and charis-
matic judge (one of the originals) on
American Idol for eight seasons, and
later, on a season of The X-Factor.
“Working on American Idol was
life-changing,” Abdul says. “The
American Dream had the spotlight,
and everyone was watching. This
world is filled with talented people,
and it’s great to be able to sing a
challenging song. But [what catches
my eye] are the singers humble
enough to remain inspired by the
great singers who’ve gone before
them and who are open and bold
enough to grow out of their comfort
zones into their own style. On Idol,
I had the privilege of giving them a
place to be heard globally. I’m grate-
ful for that gift to this day.”
But, she adds, she always comes
back to dance. “Dance is my truest
love and my burning passion — I
love the passion,” she says. “You can’t
dance or perform without passion
— it just doesn’t work. Dance ignites
passion and it’s wonderfully conta-
gious. What a gift to be able to evoke
and express joy, curiosity, sensuality,
anger — to be inspired and to affect
people by what inspires you. I’ve
always believed that dancers are art-
ists and athletes who bring passion
and life to every moment.”
Abdul, who has a sister, Wendy,
grew up in a middle-class develop-
ment in North Hollywood, Calif.,
that Abdul once called “a cool place,
sort of like a commune or kibbutz.”
Her mom, Lorraine, who was born
near Winnipeg, Canada, with a
Russian-Jewish heritage, was the
longtime assistant to director Billy
Wilder. Her father, Harry, bought
and sold livestock for a living.
“He was put up for adoption at
birth at an orphanage in Cleveland,
Ohio,” Abdul says. At 9, Harry was
adopted by a Jewish family and later
became a bar mitzvah — reports
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