Paula Cole

Paula Cole (born April 5, 1968 in Rockport, Massachusetts, USA) is an American singer and songwriter. Cole was born to a visual artist mother and a father who was an entomologist who formerly played polka music. Cole entered the Berklee College of Music in Boston when she was 18, where she studied jazz singing and improvisation. Although some press and stories focused on Cole being an unpopular and lonely child during her schooling in Rockport public schools, this is almost purely fiction. She was, in fact, from middle school on, a very popular student, holding office as class president and student counselor. In addition, she was very active in the school's theatre arts program starring in many productions, among them "Flower Drum Song" and "Whose Life Is It Anyway?". She was a French club member and traveled to France as part of a well-established exchange program founded by Foreign Language department head Mary Hayes. Although it has been reported otherwise, she did, in fact, attend proms.