The famous actress, Gal Gadot, was born on April 30, 1985 in Petah Tikva, Israel and grew up in Rosh HaAyin. In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald in 2016, she described her childhood as being raised in a charming and innocent neighborhood. Gadot reminisced about a time before cell phones when children walked to their friend’s houses and asked for play dates. She also mentioned that they were a very active group of kids.
According to Hebrew, the first name of the person in question is associated with a “wave,” while her last name denotes “riverbanks.”
Gal Gadot’s parents had different professions – her mother, Irit, was a P.E. teacher while her father, Michael, worked as an engineer. Gadot’s childhood was mainly shaped by her mother’s job since she grew up playing sports like volleyball, tennis, basketball, and even doing high jumps. She described herself as a very active child.
Irit, the wife of Michael, was a first-generation Jewish Israeli despite both her parents being born in Israel. Her grandmother managed to flee Europe before the invasion of the Nazis, but unfortunately, her grandfather and his family were not as fortunate. They were still residing in Czechoslovakia when the Nazis arrived, resulting in his father’s death, and he, along with his mother and brother, were sent to Auschwitz. Tragically, only he survived, as his entire family was murdered. Irit shared with Rolling Stone in 2017 that this experience affected her deeply. Despite the horrors her grandfather witnessed and endured, he remained a positive and loving person who inspired her deeply.
In 2016, on Facebook, she referred to her younger sibling as a “ray of sunshine.” Dana is her only sister.
Despite receiving modeling offers while still in high school, she decided to work at a Burger King nearby instead. She explained to RS that she was not interested in the idea of posing for money.
Upon finishing high school, but prior to her mandatory service in the Israeli military, Gal Gadot’s mother convinced her to participate in the 2004 Miss Israel beauty pageant. Despite not anticipating a victory, she ended up winning and was taken aback by the sudden responsibility of being crowned Miss Israel, as she shared in a 2017 interview with W Magazine.
After winning a beauty pageant, she was required to participate in the Miss Universe competition in Ecuador. She didn’t want to take it seriously and was afraid of being picked again. When she arrived, she came without gowns and was even late. She refused to wear an evening gown for breakfast and ended up finishing outside the Top 20. Despite losing, she happily declared it as a victorious loss.
When she turned 20, she had to serve for two years in the Israel Defense Services. Her role was that of a combat instructor where she trained soldiers and kept them fit. Although she learned how to use weapons during boot camp, she was never in a dangerous situation where she had to use them. This information was shared by her during an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald.
Gal Gadot met Yaron Varsano, a real estate developer who was ten years older than her, while serving at a chakra and yoga retreat party in the desert. Despite being part of the same group of friends, they didn’t know each other. However, something clicked between them from the moment they started talking. Gal was drawn to Yaron’s cool demeanor. After the party, she called him immediately and asked him out on a date. By their second date, Yaron had already declared that he was going to marry her, but he would wait for two years. True to his word, they got married in 2008.
Back in 2007, there was a buzz surrounding a Maxim photoshoot called “Women of the IDF” which featured her and led to multiple modeling and acting opportunities. The following year she became the primary model for Castro, an Israeli clothing company, a role she held for quite some time.
Although she received tempting offers, she made the decision to pursue a degree in law and international relations at the IDC Herzliya college. Her reason for choosing this field of study was because of her love for the show “Ally McBeal” and her deep interest in the subject matter.
During her initial year in college, a casting director approached the young woman about auditioning for the role of Camille Montes in “Quantum of Solace,” a James Bond film. She expressed reluctance, telling her agent that she was not an actress and had school commitments. However, her agent urged her to go to the audition out of respect. Despite her effort, the role went to Olga Kurylenko instead.
In 2007, she had her first acting role in the Israeli series called Bubot, but unfortunately, she didn’t become a Bond girl. Nevertheless, her breakthrough moment was looming on the horizon.
A few months after being rejected for the Bond role, the casting director who had previously invited her to audition offered her the part of Gisele in the fourth Fast Furious movie. This time, she landed the role. According to her, the reason behind her selection was primarily the director Justin Lin’s interest in her military background and expertise in handling weapons.
Gal has appeared in a total of four Fast and Furious movies and has taken on the challenge of performing most of her own stunts in the action-packed franchise.
The year of her debut in movies also saw her making an appearance on the popular TV show, Entourage. Along with that, she also had a few roles on the now-defunct CW drama, The Beautiful Life: TBL.
As soon as she gained popularity, many offers started pouring in for her. She got the chance to work with some big names like Tom Cruise, Tina Fey, and Steve Carrell. She appeared on screen with them in movies such as Knight Day and Date Night.
The article talks about how despite being well-known, the woman and her spouse managed to create a hotel in Tel Aviv called The Varsano. They were always staying in hotels and wanted to feel more at home, which led them to discover apartments within a hotel in Los Angeles, which inspired their hotel business. The woman stated that she and her husband made a great team, as they understood each other’s careers and helped each other progress in all aspects of life. She was so involved in running the hotel that she claimed to have changed the sheets herself when in town.
The couple made a big sale in 2015 when they sold the hotel to Roman Abramovich, an Israeli-Russian billionaire, for a whopping $26 million.
Gal Gadot was unaware of the role she was auditioning for when she received her first chance to audition as Wonder Woman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice by Zack Snyder. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Gadot stated that Snyder called her and asked if she knew what role she was trying out for, to which she responded negatively. Snyder then revealed that it was for the role of Wonder Woman, eliciting a shocked response from Gadot, as she tried to pretend she knew about the character. According to Gadot, her reaction was, “Oh yeah, Wonder Woman, sure,” when her jaw had actually dropped in amazement.
Before securing the audition that changed her life, she had been considering giving up on her acting career altogether. In an interview with Willie Geist on Sunday TODAY in 2017, she admitted to being on the brink of quitting due to the constant rejection and disappointment she faced. The thought of going back to law school even crossed her mind as an alternative option. She explained to Glamour that she was stuck in a confusing phase of her career, constantly traveling between Tel Aviv and Los Angeles for auditions. Despite making it to multiple callbacks and camera tests, nothing seemed to materialize for her. The constant disappointments made her question her abilities and whether acting was the right path for her. However, just when she was about to call it quits, her agent informed her that Warner Brothers wanted to audition her for a role.
Gal, in her appearance on Live with Kelly and Ryan in 2017, revealed the rigorous training she underwent to prepare for her role as Wonder Woman. She divulged that the regime included a mix of swordsmanship, Kung Fu, kickboxing, capoeira, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and was even more challenging than her military training. For six months before filming, Gal trained six hours every day, comprising of two hours of gym work, two hours of fight choreography, and one and a half to two hours of horseback riding. The preparation was undoubtedly more intense than her military training, she confessed.
Gal and Yaron have two daughters, Alma and Maya.
During the November 2016 reshoots for Wonder Woman, actress Gal Gadot was five months pregnant with her second child, Maya. In order to conceal her noticeable baby bump, a green cloth was inserted in the front of her suit which could be digitally replaced in post-production. While close-up shots made her look like the iconic superhero, wide shots were comical as she resembled “Wonder Woman pregnant with Kermit the Frog,” according to her interview with Entertainment Weekly in 2017.
Despite the overwhelmingly positive reception of Wonder Woman upon its release, there were those who didn’t quite appreciate it. In Lebanon, where tensions with Israel run high, the film was met with protests due to Gal Gadot’s past military service and support for the IDF. Other countries like Algeria, Tunisia, and Qatar also went as far as banning the film altogether.
In the world of superhero movies, Gal Gadot is a well-known figure in the DC Cinematic Universe. However, it seems that Marvel could have had her first. In an interview with Reshet.tv back in 2013, she mentioned that she was in talks for a role that would require her to shave her head and be painted blue. Unfortunately, news broke shortly after that Karen Gillan had been cast as Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy.
Gal Gadot is not only a fan of performing her own stunts but has also been a huge motorcycle enthusiast for a long time. According to an interview she gave to Elle Australia in 2015, she loves being physically active and used to dance which was great training for her. However, after becoming a mother, she chose to give up her love of motorcycles to prioritize her family.
The CW Network, also known as The CW, recently revealed that the actress had a background in dance. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, she had been dancing for 12 years, with experience in ballet, hip-hop, and jazz. At one point, she even considered pursuing a career in choreography rather than acting, but life took her in a different direction.
In October 2019, Gal Gadot and her husband established the production company Pilot Wave with the aim of creating content that highlights the perspectives and experiences of unique individuals and producing impactful stories to ignite imagination. As she celebrates her 36th birthday on April 30, the actress and producer has much to be grateful for, including the success of her highly-anticipated film Wonder Woman 1984, which became the most-streamed film of 2020. She’s also set to star in Red Notice alongside Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds, rumored to be Netflix’s most expensive film in history. Despite the challenges of a turbulent year, Gadot remains thankful for her good health and growing family, starting each day by expressing gratitude for all that she has.