By: John D. Pepe

When I first saw that Gal Gadot was cast as Wonder Woman I was a little disappointed because of my preconceived notions of what Wonder Woman should look like, i.e., Linda Carter, that being the Wonder Woman I grew up watching. But Gadot’s performance, in both Superman vs. Batman and Wonder Woman, made me a believer. Not only do I think she hijacked the show in Superman vs. Batman, I think she did an supreme job of carrying her own movie as Wonder Woman.

I think most of us have heard the phrase, “Life imitates art.” After reading an article about Gal Gadot I think it is more the case of “Art imitating life.” It is almost as if she is Wonder Woman incarnate. This is what I mean by that:

Intelligence: Daughter of teacher and engineer, Gadot’s high school major (she grew up in Israel) was biology. She started studying law and political science at IDC Herzliya-a private, not-for-profit, non-sectarian research college, that grants undergraduate and post-graduate degrees-quitting to pursue acting and modeling.

Beauty: We can see it plainly, but she has accolades for it as well. She has led campaigns as a model for Miss Sixty, Huawei, Captain Morgan and Jaguar cars. She is the face of Gucci’s Bamboo perfume. She has been the featured cover girl of Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Bride, Entertainment Weekly, UMM, Cleo, Fashion, Lucire, and FHM. She won the 2004 Miss Israel beauty pageant and competed in the Miss Universe 2004 pageant. (These, just to name a few of the things she has done)

Toughness: I would have to say she has that warrior mindset, and is tougher than the average Hollywood actor (including some men). She is a motorcycle enthusiast who not only served in the Israel Defense Forces (which is required of all citizens of Israel), she was also given the post of combat trainer. Chosen to play Gisele in the Fast and the Furious franchise because of her knowledge of diverse weapons, she has also studied swordplay, kung-fu, kickboxing, and jiu-jitsu. She has spent countless hours in the gym, before and during her time in Hollywood. She danced for 12 years, and played multiple sports growing up, including: tennis, basketball, volleyball, and dodgeball.

Gadot is also tough. She was pregnant on the set of Superman vs. Batman but hid it from her co-stars; occasionally running off to puke where no one would see her. She preferred to gut it out as opposed to being pampered.

The woman has “chutzpah”, a Jewish word meaning boldness or grit. Gadot truly embodies the character of Diane Prince, a.k.a., Wonder Woman, and was an excellent choice to play her, because, well, she kind-of is Wonder Woman in real life.