Gal Gadot, The Wonder Woman
Early life
Gadot was born and raised in Rosh HaAyin, Israel. In Hebrew, her first name means wave and her surname means riverbanks She is the daughter of Irit (née Weiss), a teacher, and Michael Gadot, an engineer. Both her parents were born in Israel. Her maternal grandparents were Holocaust survivors. Her ancestry is Polish-Jewish, Austrian-Jewish, German-Jewish, and Czech-Jewish. Her high school major was biology. She says that in high school she was successful at basketball due to her height.[1] After school, she went to university, starting to study law twice at the Reichman Law School, at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya.
Military service
After high school, Gadot carried out two years of service as an enlisted soldier in the Israel Defense Forces, serving as a combat trainer. She says of her time as a soldier in the army: You give two or three years, and it's not about you. You learn discipline and respect. Gadot says that her military background helped her to win the role of Gisele in Fast & Furious. Gadot says about her getting the role of Gisele: I think the main reason was that [the director] Justin Lin really liked that I was in the military, and he wanted to use my knowledge of weapons.
Career
Gadot at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con panel for Justice League
At the age of 18 Gadot won the 2004 Miss Israel competition, and next competed in the 2004 Miss Universe pageant in Ecuador. She carried out her two-year military service from age 20, then studied law. When she had completed her first year of school a casting director called her to audition for the part of Bond girl Camille Montes in the film Quantum of Solace. Although she lost the part to Olga Kurylenko, the same casting director hired Gadot for the role of Gisele in Fast & Furious. Gadot performed her own stunts in the Fast & Furious films.
In 2007, the 21-year-old Gadot took a part in the Maxim photo shoot Women of the Israeli Army, and as a result she was featured on the cover of the New York Post. In April 2012, Shalom Life ranked her Number 5 on its list of the 50 most talented, intelligent, funny, and gorgeous Jewish women in the world, behind model Bar Refaeli and actress Eva Green. In 2014, Gadot was one of two Israeli actresses, along with Odeya Rush, listed as an upcoming leading lady by InStyle magazine.
Acting
Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill and Gal Gadot at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con panel for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
In 2008, Gadot starred in the Israeli drama Bubot. She appeared as Gisele in Fast & Furious, the fourth film in The Fast & the Furious franchise, having won the role over six other actresses. In 2010, she had small roles in the action-comedy Date Night and the action-adventure Knight and Day. 2011 brought her back to The Fast & the Furious franchise, reprising her role as Gisele in Fast Five. In 2013, Gadot played Gisele again in Fast & Furious 6.
Gadot played Wonder Woman in the movie Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), and is signed for two future sequels which include the Justice League and a solo Wonder Woman film. Gadot received swordsmanship, Kung Fu kickboxing, capoeira and Brazilian jiu-jitsu training in preparation for the role. Gadot's performance as the superhero, which is the first time for the character on film, was hailed as one of the best parts of the film.
Also in 2016, she had a small role in John Hillcoat's crime-thriller Triple 9, where she starred along with Kate Winslet and Aaron Paul. Later that year, she co-starred in the thriller film Criminal, as the wife of Ryan Reynolds' character, alongside Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, and Tommy Lee Jones; Her final film of 2016 was the comedy Keeping Up with the Joneses, in which she played a secret agent, alongside Isla Fisher and Jon Hamm.