Gal Gadot was born on the 30th of April, 1985, in Petah Tikva, Israel. She was born to an engineer and a teacher, and her parents gave her a Hebrew name that roughly translates to “waves on the riverbank.” Gadot comes from a long line of Jews living in Israel, and her grandparents suffered in Europe under the Nazi occupation before moving to Israel. Gal Gadot grew up alongside a younger sister before attending the IDC Herzliya College to study law and international relations.
As an Israeli citizen, Gal Gadot was required to complete a two-year tour of duty in the Israel Defense Forces. She enlisted as a combat instructor, and her experience in the military later became an asset as she took various acting roles. In 2007, she posed for Maxim magazine in their “Women of the IDF” photoshoot.
Gal Gadot showed promise as a model early in her career, and she won the Miss Israel Pageant as an 18-year-old. Having won this competition, she moved on to the Miss Universe pageant in 2004, which took place in Ecuador. This set the stage for a successful and lucrative modeling career during the years to come. Gal Gadot was worked with numerous brands, often becoming the face of their marketing campaigns.