Gal Gadot

Gadot entered the Miss Israel national beauty pageant at 18, under the impression that it would be a "fun" experience, and stated in a Glamour interview: "I never thought I would win."[31][32][33] She subsequently won and went on to compete for Israel in the Miss Universe 2004 pageant that took place that year in Ecuador.[34]

She has led international campaigns as a model for Miss Sixty, Huawei smartphones, Captain Morgan rum, Gucci fragrances, Vine Vera skincare[35][36] and Jaguar Cars. In 2015, she became the face of Gucci's Bamboo perfume brand.[37] She has been featured as the covergirl on Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Bride Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, UMM, Cleo, Fashion, Lucire, FHM. Gadot was the main model for fashion brand Castro from 2008 to 2016.[38] In 2013, her combined annual modeling and acting salary was estimated at NIS 2.4 million.[39]

In 2007, a then 21-year-old Gadot was in the Maxim photo shoot "Women of the Israel Defense Forces"[40][41] and was then featured on the cover of the New York Post.[42]

In 2017, Gadot was placed at number one on FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World" list.[43]

In 2018, Gadot became a brand ambassador for Revlon and Reebok. She appeared in advertisements for Revlon's "Live Boldly" campaign and Reebok's "Be More Human" campaign.[44][45]

After Gadot had completed her first year of college, a casting director contacted her agent to have Gadot audition for the part of Camille Montes in the James Bond film Quantum of Solace.[30] Although she lost the part to Olga Kurylenko, a few months later, Gadot starred in the 2008 Israeli drama Bubot. Three months later, the casting director from her Quantum of Solace audition chose Gadot over six other actresses for the role of Gisele Yashar in the action film Fast & Furious, the fourth film in the Fast & Furious franchise.[46][47] Gadot performed some of her own stunt work in those films.[48]

In 2010, she had small roles in the action comedy Date Night and the action-adventure comedy Knight and Day.[49] 2011 brought her back to the Fast & Furious franchise, reprising her role as Gisele in Fast Five; she reprised the character in 2013's Fast & Furious 6.[50]

Gadot at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con

In 2016, Gadot portrayed Wonder Woman in the superhero film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Gadot received swordsmanship, Kung Fu, kickboxing, capoeira and Brazilian jiu-jitsu training in preparation for the role. She was almost cast as Faora-Ul in Man of Steel, but she rejected the part for her pregnancy. Antje Traue was cast instead.[51][52][53] Gadot's performance as the superhero, which was the character's first appearance in film, was singled out as one of the best parts of the film.[54]

Gadot, fellow Wonder Woman actress Lynda Carter, DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson, Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins and U.N. Under-Secretary-General Cristina Gallach appeared at the United Nations on 21 October 2016, the 75th anniversary of the first appearance of Wonder Woman, to mark the character's designation by the United Nations as its "Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls".[55][56] The gesture was intended to raise awareness of UN Sustainable Development Goal No. 5, which seeks to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls by 2030.[55][56][57] The decision was met with protests from UN staff members who stated in their petition to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that the character is "not culturally encompassing or sensitive" and served to objectify women. As a result, the character was stripped of the designation, and the project ended on 16 December.[57] She then had a small role in John Hillcoat's crime-thriller Triple 9, where she starred along with Kate Winslet and Aaron Paul.[58] Later that year, she co-starred in the action crime thriller film Criminal, as the wife of Ryan Reynolds' character,[59] alongside Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, and Tommy Lee Jones.[60] Her final film of the year was the action comedy Keeping Up with the Joneses, in which she played a secret agent, alongside Zach Galifianakis, Jon Hamm, and Isla Fisher.[61]

In 2017, Gadot starred in a solo film for her character, Wonder Woman. She reprised the role in the ensemble film Justice League, which was released in November 2017, and was her third DC Extended Universe installment.[62][63][64] That same year, Gadot was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[65]

In 2018, Time magazine named Gadot one of the 100 most influential people in the world,[66] and Forbes ranked her as the tenth highest-paid actress in the world, with annual earnings of $10 million.[67] In the same year, Gadot voiced Shank in the Walt Disney Animation Studios film Ralph Breaks the Internet.[68] Gadot appeared in the music video for Maroon 5's song "Girls Like You" (2018) featuring Cardi B.[69]

In 2020, Forbes ranked Gadot as the third highest-paid actress in the world, with annual earnings of $31.5 million.[70] On 11 October 2020, Gadot was confirmed to be reuniting with Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins on Cleopatra, an epic film centered on Cleopatra, which was originally going to be distributed by Paramount Pictures.[71] Later, Jenkins moved to produce the project with Kari Skogland set to direct.[72]

In 2021, Gadot starred alongside Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds in the Netflix action comedy film Red Notice, written and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber.[73] The following year, she co-starred with Kenneth Branagh, Armie Hammer, Ali Fazal, Tom Bateman, and Annette Bening in the 2022 mystery film Death on the Nile, which was also directed by Branagh.[74] In 2023, Gadot made uncredited cameo appearances as Wonder Woman in Shazam! Fury of the Gods and The Flash.[75][76][77][78] She also returned to the Fast & Furious franchise with a cameo appearance in Fast X.[79] Later that year, she played the lead role of a double agent in Netflix's action film Heart of Stone.[80] The film received mixed reviews, with Owen Gleiberman stating: "Gadot is game, but there’s a slightly downbeat earnestness about her that doesn’t mesh with the reflexive quippiness of the dialogue."[81]

Gadot will star as the Evil Queen in a live-action adaptation of Disney's 1937 animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and also produce and star in a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's 1955 film To Catch a Thief.[82][83]

In October 2019, Gadot formed a film and television production company, Pilot Wave, with her husband Jaron "Yaron" Varsano, and said she will star in and co-produce an Apple TV+ limited series about actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr, as well as the Warner Bros. historical thriller film Irena Sendler, following the life of WWII humanitarian Irena Sendler.[84][85]

In 2020, Gadot co-produced, as well as starred, in the film Wonder Woman 1984.

In 2008, Gadot participated in Tfos Ta'Festigal – Harpatka BaMetzulot (Festigal 2008), the highest-grossing annual Israeli musical show for kids during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, where Gadot took part as one of the local Israeli celebrities; and she acted, sang and danced – dressed as a mermaid.[86][87]

Gadot was named as celebrity endorser for Smartwater in 2020, replacing Jennifer Aniston, who had served in that role since 2008.[88]

In March 2020, Gadot and a number of other celebrities, including her Wonder Woman 1984 co-star Kristen Wiig, performed an online version of the song "Imagine" by John Lennon, intended to raise morale during the COVID-19 pandemic.[112] The video received backlash with critics dismissing it as an ineffective response to the pandemic; Jon Caramanica of The New York Times called it "an empty and profoundly awkward gesture".[113][114][115][116][117] Gadot later acknowledged the video did not garner the positive reaction that had been intended, but was unapologetic in explaining the thinking behind it.[118] In a 2022 interview with InStyle magazine, Gadot admitted that the video was done in "poor taste", but still maintained that it had "pure intentions".[119]