Gal Gadot was born to a Jewish family on 30 April 1985 in Petah Tikva, Israel, and raised in its neighbouring city of Rosh HaAyin. Her parents are Irit, a teacher, and Michael Gadot, an engineer. She also has one sibling, a younger sister, Dana. Both her parents were born in Israel, and her father is in fact a sixth-generation Sabra. Her maternal grandparents were born in Europe; her grandfather, who was imprisoned in the Auschwitz concentration camp, survived the Holocaust, and her grandmother left before the Nazi invasion.
At age 18, Gadot won the 2004 Miss Israel beauty pageant and subsequently competed in the Miss Universe 2004 pageant in Ecuador. She began her modelling career soon thereafter leading several international campaigns for top-tier brands such as Miss Sixty, Huawei, Gucci, Jaguar and more.
Gadot completed her two mandatory years of service in the Israel Defence Forces at the age of 20, enlisting as a combat instructor. After her military service, Gadot studied law and international relations at the IDC Herzliya college.
She got her first crack at an acting role when she was contacted by a casting director to audition for the part of Bond girl Camille Montes in the James Bond film ‘Quantum of Solace’. Although that role slipped by her, she nevertheless began her acting career a couple of months later when she starred in the 2008 Israeli drama Bubot. Just three months later, the very same casting director chose Gadot for the role of Gisele Yashar in the action film Fast & Furious, the fourth film in the Fast & Furious franchise. She also appeared in the 2010 films Date Night and Knight and Day. She returned to the Fast & Furious franchise in 2011 and 2013, reprising her role as Gisele in Fast Five and in Fast & Furious 6. She even performed her own stunt work in each of the Fast & Furious films.
However, it was her role as Wonder Woman in the superhero team-up film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in 2016 that truly garnered her international fame. In fact, her role was singled out as the single best part in an otherwise poorly received movie. She subsequently went on to reprise her role again in the Wonder Woman solo film in 2017, which was very positively received, as well as in the DC Extended Universe Justice League movie in 2017. Outside of the DC films, Gadot also starred in the crime-thriller Triple 9 as well as voiced Shank in the much-loved Disney animation film Ralph Breaks the Internet.
Outside of her acting career, Gadot is also a motorcycle enthusiast and is married to Israeli businessman Yaron Versano since September 28, 2008. They have two daughters.
Her career also shows no sign of slowing with Gadot once again reprising her super hero role in Wonder Woman 1984, set to be released soon, as well as the upcoming Netflix thriller Red Notice, in which she will be starring alongside Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds.