Get to Know *the* Wonder Woman: Gal Gadot
Gal Gadot (Photo: Warner Bros./DC)
Gal Gadot makes her debut as Wonder Woman in this weekend’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. While it’s Ben Affleck’s Batman and Henry Cavill’s Superman who get top billing, Gadot’s Wonder Woman will be featured heavily in DC’s upcoming slate of movies, including a standalone Wonder Woman film out next year. Batman v Superman is Gadot’s highest profile film appearance to date, so let’s get to know the woman who’ll be wielding the iconic Lasso of Truth.
Gal Gadot at the London premiere of Batman v Superman (Photo: Getty Images)
Hebrew Home Companion
First things first: let’s get the pronunciation down. As Gadot told Jimmy Kimmel, the most accurate way to way to pronounce her name is Gal Guh-DOT. Now that we’ve all had a brief lesson in Hebrew phonetics, we can dive a little deeper. Gadot was born and raised in Rosh HaAyin, Israel. Gal means “wave” in Hebrew and Gadot means “riverbanks” so clearly her parents have a thing with water. As all Israelis do, Gadot served two years in the Israel Defense Forces; during her time in the IDF, she was a combat instructor.
Gal Gadot is the face of Gucci’s Bamboo perfume (Photo: Gucci)
Model Behavior
In 2004, Gadot won the crown of Miss Israel. After getting out of the army, she began working as a model and really working. According to Forbes Israel, Gadot was the second-highest paid model in Israel in 2013, only behind Bar Refaeli, making 2,400,000 Israeli shekels ($625,619) that year.
Gadot and her hubby (Photo: Instagram)
My Mommy the Superhero
Gadot married Yaron Varsano in 2008. The couple has one daughter together, Alma, born in 2011. Surely the Wonder Woman money is great, but they don’t really need it. Varsano is a real estate developer who sold a hotel in Tel Aviv to Roman Abramovich for the equivalent of $26 million. The family lives in Tel Aviv.
Gadot in Fast & Furious (Photo: Everett Collection)
Franchise Superstar
DC’s film universe isn’t Gadot’s first experience with a film franchise. Before she adopted the title of Wonder Woman, Gadot was also in the Fast & Furious franchise, playing Gisele, a former Mossad agent who falls for Sung Kang’s Han. Gisele sacrificed herself for Han in Fast & Furious 6. Gadot has also starred in several Israeli TV series including Kathmandu, Asfur, and Bubot.
