<![CDATA[For decades, the definitive image of Wonder Woman in the popular imagination has been that of Linda Carter, who portrayed the Amazonian heroine in the live-action Wonder Woman television series. The show aired from 1975-1979 and up until now has remained the iconic representation of DC Comic’s famous female character.

After years of casting rumours, cancelled projects and disappointments, fans were finally able to see a modern Wonder Woman on the big screen in the new movie Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Although the movie may be getting mixed reviews, one thing most people seem to agree on is that the new Wonder Woman is spot on and that’s thanks to Gal Gadot, the new heir to the throne of Themyscira.

Who is Gal Gadot?

Like Lynda Carter, Gal got her first taste of fame as a contestant in the Miss Universe competition. Representing her native country of Israel, she failed to reach the finals but a few short years later made her tv debut in her her country in the drama Bubot.

But it’s not just her beauty that made her perfectly suited to the role. Before she started on the road to stardom, Gal spent two years serving in the Isreali army and is trained in weapons and combat. Although it may be the first time superhero fans have seen her, Gadot has been making action-packed blockbusters since her silver screen début in Fast & Furious 4 in 2009. Remarkably, Gadot did all her own stunts in the follow-up movies Fast & Furious 5, 6 and 7 and even owned her own 2006 Ducati Monster motorbike, but gave up her hair-raising hobby once she became a mother.

Why we love her

She takes her role seriously

Gal knew from day one that the role of Wonder Woman carries a lot of expectations, which she spoke about in a recent interview. “I feel like I’ve been given a huge opportunity to inspire people, not only women. And not because of me but because of who Wonder Woman is and what she stands for. There’s a lot of responsibility.”

During her first day on the set of Batman v Superman, she was approached by a young girl who was a relative of a crew member and presented Gal with a picture she’d drawn of her favourite heroine. Gadot recounts, “It was very moving and it proved how important the character is. For little girls who can be inspired to be strong, independent, and sophisticated women when they grow up and for little boys who learn they must respect women, Wonder Woman represents a lot of good values, and moral strength, too.”

She also trained for nine months leading up to shooting and reportedly gained 17 pounds of muscle for the role — that’s nearly 8 kilos.

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She’s down to earth

Gal doesn’t just use her Instagram to showcase her glamourous life of international movie premieres and magazine cover shoots.

She also shows off her 4-year-old daughter’s artwork like any other proud mum.

As well as posting cute candid shots of her reading to Alma at home in her downtime

…and goofing off with her family as well as her famous friends.

: Clowning around with her husband Yaron Versano.

: #friendshipgoals

: Settling in for a game of Monopoly with the family.

Get Gal’s DC Comics Monopoly set from CostumeBox.

She’s a great role model

When Gal first started taking meetings with casting agents in LA, she wasn’t afraid to be up front about what she wanted. As Gal said to Interview magazine

“I told them that I wanted to be able to show the stronger side of women. I didn’t want to do the obvious role that you see in Hollywood most of the time, which is the heartbroken girl who’s waiting to be rescued by the guy, blah, blah, blah. I wanted to do something different. Little did I know that I would land Wonder Woman not long after.”

But that’s not the only criteria she uses to pick her roles.

“When I choose a role, I always think about whether my daughter can get something out of it when she watches the movie later after she’s grown up. Or even just show her that Mommy’s doing what Mommy loves to do.”

We think Wonder Woman’s in safe hands.

So when will we get to see more of Gal as Wonder Woman? Just last week Entertainment Weekly reported that Wonder Woman’s own movie will be released in the U.S. in June 2017.

Starring Gadot, Robin Wright, Connie Neilsen and Lisa Loven Kongsli, the movie will be set on Themyscira, an island inhabited only by women. The plot centres on Wonder Woman’s origins as Diana, an Amazonian warrior princess who is trained and mentored by her mother, Queen Hippolyta (played by Nielsen) and her aunts (Wright and Kongsli), both high-ranking military leaders.
Until then, save the world on your own terms with our Wonder Woman costumes and Geeky Gifts.