Paula Abdul

 

Born: 19 June 1962 

Birthplace: San Fernando, California 

Best Known As: American Idol judge and singer of "Straight Up"

Paula Julie Abdul  born June 19, 1962) is an American recording artist, dancer, actress and television personality.

First generation Americans

First generation Americans American born

 In the debate about immigration, some state legislators want to alter the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution with birthright proposals for children of illegal immigrants.
The 14th Amendment was created in the aftermath of this famous U.S. Supreme Court case and eventually allowed many celebrities to claim first-generation citizenship.

Martin Van Buren

Birthplace: Kinderhook, New York

Parental nationality: Dutch

The eighth U.S. president was an American-born commander in chief, unlike his predecessors.He spoke English as a second language, as did his wife. What was their first language?While Van Buren's birthplace satisfied the natural-born requirement for the presidency, another president endured challengers.  

 

Frank Sinatra

Birthplace: Hoboken, New Jersey

Parental nationality: Italian

 Before the King of Rock 'n' Roll, Sinatra was the reigning singing-celebrity heartthrob in the United States.Like her husband, Sinatra's ex-wife was an American child of foreign-born immigrants.

Kirk Douglas

Birthplace: Amsterdam, New York

Parental nationality: Russian by way of Belarus

 His 1960 role as a rebellious Greek has spawned a cable-channel cottage industry with two actors.His only award-winning role was as a tormented artist.Neither of his two wives was American-born: first wife, second wife.Of his four sons, the most famous one has a Welsh-born wife.

Nicole Kidman

Birthplace: Honolulu 

Parental nationality: Australian

 Because of her birthplace and parents' nationality, Kidman holds national citizenships similar to another hot actress.Like Kidman, her second husband was born somewhere else but grew up in Australia. The couple has two daughters.The Oscar-winning actress resides in a Southern American town and in Australia.

Sidney Poitier

Birthplace: Miami

Parental nationality: Bahamian

 He garnered a 1958 Academy Award Best Actor nomination, winning the Oscar five years later.In expanding his career, he directed a popular dance movie, but a comedy duo headlined his most successful project.With a longtime friend, Poitier directed several profitable movies in the 1970s.Since 1997, he has worked as a diplomat.

Dr. Mehmet Oz

Birthplace: Cleveland 

Parental nationality:Turkish

 He holds dual citizenship, which he obtained by serving in the military.Along with his longtime medical collaborator, he wrote a best-selling series.He became a household name after appearing on a daytime talk show for five seasons.In addition to his daily health show, he also appears on a new cable show

Soledad O'Brien

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Birthplace: St. James, New York

Parental nationality: Cuban and Australian

 The CNN host explained what her birth name means in Spanish.Her parents married in Washington, D.C., since interracial marriage was illegal in Maryland, where they attended college. In 1967, this landmark Supreme Court decision outlawed anti-miscegenation statutes in the United States.O'Brien and her five siblings all graduated from the same Ivy League university.

Paula Abdul

Birthplace: San Fernando, California

Parental nationality: Syrian-Brazilian and Canadian

 Her former father-in-law was a first-generation American, too. His parents emigrated from two European countries.

 Inspired by her second divorce, Abdul co-wrote an international hit song that served as a chart-topping comeback for an Australian pop star.

Celebs Who Were Cheerleaders

 

Celebs Who Were Cheerleaders 

Megan Fox

Super Bowl XLV will see the Steelers facing off against the Packers. To get into the gridiron spirit, see which celebs led cheers before audiences cheered for them. 

Cameron Diaz

Miley Cyrus

Sandra Bullock

Lindsay Lohan

Eva Longoria

Madonna

Dakota Fanning

Halle Berry

Paula Abdul

Fergie

George W. Bush

Alicia Silverstone

Mandy Moore

Jessica Simpson

Kirsten Dunst

Carrie Underwood

Kathy Griffin

Jamie Lee Curtis

Kirk Douglas

Top American Idol Moments

 

American Idol Top Moments

The world's greatest reality TV singing competition is back to glue you to the idiot box.

Tune in to the premiere of American Idol Season 10 on Star World, Astro Channel 711 on Thursday, 20th January 2011 at 6pm, with a primetime repeat at 8pm.

Adam Lambert may be today's definition of glam, but who better to school the sex symbol but the grandmasters of glam themselves - KISS. We bet Gene Simmons will one day join the judging panel though.

Blake Lewis

This singer-songwriter cum beatboxer blazed new trails on Idol with his flash and extremely unique style. While his post-Idol career may not match up to luminaries like Kelly Clarkson and Chris Daughtry, nonetheless he's had pretty good success on the dance charts, having released his second album, 'Heartbreak' on Vinyl in 2009.

Bo Bice

How could he not have won, with those shampoo-commercial locks and manly beard? One of the original rockers that joined American Idol, along with his polar opposite Chris Daughtry, Bo hasn't been heard much from lately... Perhaps a Loreal ad may revive his career.

David Archuleta and David Cook

The Two Davids, David Archuleta and David Cook, represented a clash between two generations - one a fresh-faced kid with stars in his eyes and the other a rocker with a steady grin. David Cook may have emerged victorious, but he's got a lot of catching up to do if he's gonna overtake the popular Archuleta.

Fantasia Barrino

Fantasia Barrino's voice is the stuff of legend. There's a reason why she won American Idol, and it's because beyond a shadow of a doubt she was the most electrifying singer that season. While she may not be as ubiquitous as Jennifer Hudson, she's a staple for listeners of great soul music and with a third studio album out now, she'll go far, if not further.

Jennifer Hudson

Jennifer Hudson was eliminated from Idol way too early, but ever since, she's gone on to release critically acclaimed albums, win an Oscar for singing in a movie, and generally kick @ss all around. Living proof that not winning the competition may not always be the worst thing that can happen to you.

  Sanjaya

Ah Sanjaya. You will not be remembered for your singing skills, or lack of, but for that amazing hair that you one day insisted into turning into a ponytail-mohawk hybrid that possibly had come alive through the intervention of an evil force. 

William Hung

Bumbling, lovable, dripping sincerity from every pore, and, oh yeah, famous for singing Ricky Martin's 'She Bangs' in the most tuneless way possible. That and accompanied with strange hand and arm movements in an attempt that could be called 'Dancing'. And went on to international stardom.

Chris Daughtry’s shocking departure

American Idol's most famous rock star, Chris Daughtry, was one of the favourites to win Idol Season 5. In fact, his rendition of Fuel's 'Hemorrhage' was so friggin' awesome, the band offered him a spot as the leading front man - while he was still on Idol! But of course, drama knocked on Idols' door when Chris was, like Jen Hudson, controversially eliminated, finishing fourth in the competition. We swear we could hear hearts break from across the Pacific Ocean.

David Archuleta mesmerizes the world

with just one song

During the Top 20 stage of Idol Season 7, the then 16-year-old David Archuleta shyly walked onto the stage, looked nervously at the crowd, belted out his own version of John Lennon's classic 'Imagine' and shyly walked off the stage. That was when little Archie captured the hearts of gajillions worldwide.

J-Hud voted off

Jennifer Hudson, arguably one of the most talented contestants the show has ever seen, was controversially voted off Season 3 of the show, finishing in seventh place.

That week the show's 3 divas, Fantasia Barrino, LeToya London and Hudson placed in the bottom 3, to the dismay of the show's judges, who dubbed the ladies the three best singers of the season. Hudson's vote-off inspired a new Idol rule, producers now allow the judges to save one contestant from being voted off each season.

Jennifer didn't stay down for long though. Instead of retreating into a corner, Hudson scored the role of a lifetime in the movie adaptation of the Tony-Award winning Broadway show, Dreamgirls, beating Season 3 winner Fantasia Barrino, who also auditioned for the part.

Hudson ended up winning the Oscar and Golden Globe for her portrayal of Effie White.

Kelly Clarkson becomes first American Idol

In 2002, a small-town girl named Kelly Clarkson thrilled millions and became the first ever American Idol, beating runner-up Justin Guarini by a mile. Kelly went on to become the most successful Idol ever until another small-town girl named Carrie Underwood came along. It didn't matter though, 'cos by that time, Kelly is already a superstar in her own rights.

Robin Williams is Russian Idol

During an Idol special in Season 7, Idol Gives Back, funnyman Robin Williams played fake Russian Idol winner with a bad sense of humour, Ivan Poppinoff (but please, call him Bob). Bob did what no other Idols have done before: he made fun of Simon Cowell, made him smile for a bit and he even managed to grab a piece of his tush. Yowza! 

Sanjaya’s hair-raising pony-hawk

Move over David Beckham, your Mohawk has been out-hawked! In Season 6, Sanjaya Malakar sang No Doubt's 'Bathwater' sporting a 'hybrid' Mohawk which is made out of multiple ponytails. It was like nothing we have seen before, and Idol host Ryan Seacrest even christened it the Ponyhawk. Sadly, that was Sanjaya's fifteen minutes of fame.

Simon and Paula's French kiss 

During Season 2's finale, Fox showed a mini-clip of Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell's alleged 'affair', in which they shared a three-second Frencher (!!). We don't know what's worse: The goose bump-raising liplock, Simon's porn-ish acting skills, or the cheesy music playing in the background. It's just gross.

Simon, We're Brothers Forever!

Remember Renaldo Lapuz? The guy who sang a self-written tune titled 'We're Brothers Forever' during the audition rounds of Season 7 wearing a feather-covered white hat with the word "SIMON" printed on it and a metallic silver cape? The cool dude managed to touch everyone's heart with his theatrics on the show, albeit knowing he has no chance to make it to the Hollywood rounds. God bless his soul, this man.

William Hung (She) Bangs it!

Ricky Martin's 'She Bangs' was an alright song until a modest boy came and made it a complete laughing stock - literally! On Idol Season 3, University of California student William Hung gained fame with an off-key audition performance of that song, and there were no dry eyes left at the judges' table. Of course, those were tears of laughter.

Adam Lambert upstages KISS

 KISS is a multi-award winning rock band that has sold 100 million albums worldwide. They were named by VH1 as 10th on their list of the '100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock' and much respected until they performed at the finale of Season 8 with rising rock star Adam Lambert. The runner-up performed two songs with KISS and they were blown away. Critics raved that Glambert upstaged the rock gods with his never-ending soaring vocals that very night. And thus, a new rock god was born (according to Kara DioGuardi, at least).