Just lately a lot of people are wondering about this woman who is about to star in a series of movies about the Most Powerful Female Force for Good since Gisele in Fast and Furious. Well yeah, if you change the modus operandi from driving fast to a swift kick in the head.
Wonder Woman is basically the female version of Superman; in her case she comes from a mythical island populated by women only and she’s about 5,000 years old, according to historical records obtained from Warner Brothers.
For a more realistic background of the new Wonder Woman persona, we go back to April 30th of 1985 in Rosh HaAyin, Israel. Gal – pronounced ‘Gahl’ – Gadot was born to native Israeli parents and her grandparents were Holocaust survivors. That heritage certainly hasn’t done her any harm; rather it’s contributed to her current enviable position as the embodiment of womanly power.
As an Israeli citizen Gal, like every other able-bodied young Israeli, did a mandatory two year stint in the military beginning at the age of 20, and from reports the training in that army is as rigorous as any in the world.
She was also good at it; good enough to be an instructor herself during her term of service. She has noted that the training in discipline has served her well in her career, not to mention giving her a notable leg up on the competition when it comes to movie stunts.
A little more background: Gal said in an interview with Glamour magazine that she has always loved acting and loved being in the spotlight; she told a story about herself at the age of five spraying a bunch of her parents’ party guests with a garden hose because they wouldn’t pay her any attention. However, she didn’t think seriously about acting until she was invited to enter the Miss Israel contest.
Much to her surprise, according to Gal, she won, but when competing for Miss Universe, she balked. She was late for the pageant and refused to wear an evening gown to breakfast – apparently part of the protocol.
She says she didn’t come close to winning but made a lot of friends because she “wasn’t a threat”. Didn’t matter though, since she got plenty of attention with the Miss Israel title, and modeling jobs came in large numbers.
Modeling wasn’t nearly enough for our Gal; she got the role of Giselle in the Fast & Furious film franchise, which got her even more attention, and from there it wasn’t a great leap to the first appearance as Wonder Woman.
Wonder Woman
When she auditioned for a role in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Gal said she thought she was auditioning for Cat Woman; she didn’t realize it was Wonder Woman until she was called to test with Ben Affleck, the new personification of Superman.
Sexy Fashion Shoot
Gal Gadot has stated often and in varying ways that her aim is to find roles that call for an independent woman who doesn’t rely on men to tell her what’s what and how to do it, and Wonder Woman sure fits the bill. She has all the most desirable female traits – and superb muscle tone to boot – and she’s not afraid to show gentleness and compassion or to kick ass when appropriate.
There’s a lot to be said for the freedom to be both fierce and forgiving; it certainly cuts down on the stereotyping most super-heroes can expect.
It’s interesting that some star-watchers and critics have booed the idea of Gal Gadot as the all-American heroine since she’s not an American. Neither was the original comic book Wonder Woman, so that sort of scraps that argument.
Triple 9
She’s also been said to lack the fulsome physical attributes of the Marilyn Monroe – or Lynda Carter – school of thought; her curves include toned muscles that she’s able to use with devastating effect when disabling bad guys, so that’s a plus, not a lack.
With numerous and varied smaller roles under her belt, not to mention intensive training in the martial arts of jujutsu, kickboxing, Kung Fu and swords, Gal is better prepared than most of her competition, both in the auditioning process and in battles between Good and Evil.
Her reaction to this sort of body- criticism is quite calm and rational; she expects to “bulk up” with all the physical training. As for her bust size, she reminded interviewers that ‘historically’ Amazon women had only one breast – bodies designed for archery, you see. Probably most viewers, no matter how critical, would prefer two.
When Gal Gadot appears as Wonder Woman in her own titled movie it will be the first movie made specifically about a female super-hero, though Wonder Woman has been around for 75 years. By the time this film comes out in June of 2017, the woman who portrays Wonder Woman will be 31 years old, a wife and mother of a 6-year-old daughter. She’ll also be a strong, intelligent – and beautiful- woman whose cinema super-powers are dedicated to good. ‘Power. Grace. Wisdom. Wonder.’ What a perfect tagline.
CFY 