Gal Gadot, the rose among thorns in the superhero epic, is the most captivating woman who is making waves in the role of the beautiful thousand-year-old warrior.
1. Gal Gadot is a name with beautiful significance
In Hebrew, her name “Gal” means “waves” and the surname “Gadot” means “river bank”. With a mix of Czech, Polish, Austrian, and German blood running through her veins, Gadot quickly mesmerizes others with her captivating gaze and charming smile.
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Gal Gadot – Hollywood’s perfect Wonder Woman
Gal Gadot was once crowned Miss Universe in 2004. Born in 1985 in Rosh HaAyin, Israel, into a family of Jewish and German-Nordic descent, she had an engineer father and a mother who was a teacher. Since childhood, she dreamed of becoming a lawyer and worked hard to pursue that dream. However, at the age of 18, her graceful beauty and 1.78m height caught the eye of a beauty scout. She then decided to participate in the Miss Israel competition to challenge herself and won the title of Miss Israel in 2004.
The beautiful woman born in 1985 shared, “I just thought this competition would be a fun experience and never thought I could win. So, I was truly shocked when they handed me the crown.”
Gal Gadot, who used to be a soldier, enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces after the Miss Universe pageant in Ecuador. She shared, “Signing up for the IDF is a duty of an Israeli. Two years in the military is for the homeland, not for yourself anymore. You will give up your own freedom to serve.”
And that’s what helped Gal Gadot become Gisele in Fast & Furious. In an interview with Forward magazine, Gal revealed that her military experience is the reason director Justin Lin entrusted her with the role of Gisele in Fast Five and Fast & Furious 6. “I think the main reason is that director Justin loves the Israeli military, and he wanted to make use of the knowledge about weapons that I have,” she said.
5. Gal Gadot once missed out on a role in a Hollywood blockbuster. The role of Camille Montes – the “Bond Girl” – in Quantum of Solace (2008) went to Olga Kurylenko instead. Despite this setback, Gal took it as an opportunity to improve herself by studying acting and participating in the Israeli TV show Bubot (2007). Soon after, she was invited by the casting director to join Fast & Furious (2009).
6. Gal Gadot faced criticism for being “flat-chested,” “too skinny,” and “not knowing how to fight.” When she was cast as Wonder Woman, the stunning actress received a lot of backlash from fans who believed she was too thin to play the iconic character. Her appearance was deemed to be different from the original, as the Amazon warrior princess is known for having a curvy figure and a large bust in the original comic books.
In response to this, Gadot believes that everyone should not just focus on comic books but should also go out and explore reality. She had conversations with Amazons, “The Amazons actually have quite small breasts, so they can easily carry a bow and arrow,” she said. “They said I was skinny and my breasts were too small. When I was young, I would really struggle with criticism like this. But now, it’s almost intriguing to me.” Gal started to follow a strict diet, train vigorously, and incorporate various martial arts like Kung Fu, Jiu Jitsu, kickboxing, sword fighting… to have a fit and healthy body suitable for the role of Wonder Woman.
6. And she became the first foreign woman to play Wonder Woman
Although Wonder Woman’s traditional costume resembles stars and stripes similar to Captain America, Gal is not American, making her role even more interesting. Most audiences are captivated by the charisma of “Wonder Woman” Gal Gadot. It seems like many people in the audience have suddenly forgotten how they mocked, ridiculed, and even protested against Gal Gadot a few years ago. So, despite still facing some criticism for taking on the role, she has portrayed an excellent original Wonder Woman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
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Cara Delevingne believes that the portrayal of Wonder Woman is overly sexy.
7. Gal Gadot wants Hollywood to change their perspective on women
In a chat with The Stndrd, the actress revealed her strong desire to see more roles for strong women in the film industry. “There are still very few opportunities for independent and powerful female roles. I hope there will be more scripts written especially for women. Most movies today focus on fragile and vulnerable characters, which is why I am proud of the roles I have played. I feel that Gisele is a true hero,” Gal shared.
8. Gal Gadot was once a model for a global campaign
She was chosen by Gucci and the “Bamboo” perfume brand for emerging stars last year, and of course, the Israeli beauty was the perfect choice.
Gal Gadot has a small and happy family. Despite her mysterious, charming and dangerous superhero persona on screen, she is known to be one of the friendliest celebrities off-screen. Gal is married to businessman Yaron Varsano, and they have a little princess named Alma.
The beautiful actress shared that when her daughter Alma was just two years old, her busy schedule always kept her on the move. At that time, she was very stressed out having to constantly travel with Alma, from Israel to the US and back. However, Yaron was always there to support her, encouraging her with words like, “Think about setting an example for Alma. If you want our child to believe she can pursue her dreams, then you must lead by example. We will figure out the rest together.”
Gal Gadot followed her husband’s advice and now, she has become one of the most famous celebrities in Hollywood.