The Internet blew up yesterday when news that Gal Gadot had been cast as Wonder Woman in Zack Snyder's upcoming Man of Steel sequel. There was no specification as to whether Gadot would be in costume or appear as her alter ego, Princess Diana of Themyscira. My money's on the latter, but who knows given the hush-hush nature this sequel has taken thus far.
Most people know Gadot from the recent run of Fast and Furious movies. Her character Gisele Harrabo shared a subplot with Sung Kang's Han Seoul-Oh (still love that name pun after all these years) that was capped in this year's Furious 6.
As she moves from one blockbuster franchise to another, just who is Gal Gadot? Here are some facts about cinema's new Wonder Woman that you may not have known.
1. First, let's get her name pronunciation correct. Her last name is pronounced "gah-dot," not the French pronunciation with the silent T that many people use in names like Bridget Bardot. Her first name rhymes with "doll."
2. Before she hit it big in Hollywood blockbusters, she was an Israeli model and actress. She won the Miss Israel title in 2004 and went on to represent Israel at the 2004 Miss Universe beauty pageant.
3. After winning, she travelled to Ecuador to compete in the Miss Universe pageant. She did not place in the top 15 and returned to Israel to work as a model.
4. She is from an Ashkenzai Jewish family. Her ancestors were Jewish immigrants from Austria, Czechoslovakia, Germany and Poland. Gadot has said that she has a strong sense of her Jewish and Israeli identity. "I did my two year military service, I was brought up in a very Jewish, Israeli family environment, so of course my heritage is very important to me. I want people to have a good impression of Israel."
5. She's an avid motorcycle rider and owns a black 2006 Ducati Monster-S2R.
6. Sorry fellas, Gadot has been married from five years to Israeli businessman Yaron Versano. The couple welcomed their first child, a daughter named Alma, in November 2011.
7. Other films you may have seen Gadot in include Knight and Day…
8. … and Date Night.
9. She also guest starred in Entourage.
10. Gadot is very active on social media. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
