WATCH
56 ELLE AUSTRALIA
I
didn’t take any of it personally. At the end of the day,
we came with a really good intention,” says Gal Gadot,
the star of this month’s blockbusterWonder Woman,
on the controversial election of her character as a UN
Honorary Ambassador last October. The campaign
was to champion “women and girls everywhere, who
are wonder women in their own right, and the men and
boys who support their struggle for gender equality”.
But instead of elation, the announcement was
condemned – nearly 45,000 people signed a petition
complaining that the superhero was an
inappropriate symbol of female
empowerment. (It’s worth noting that an
Angry Bird has held an honorary
ambassadorship as well.) Two months later,
the campaign was dropped. “Wonder
Woman stands for so many of the
great values the world can be inspired by...
but it just didn’t work out.” A diplomaticWould therealWonderWoman
please stand up?WA I T I N G
FOR GADOT
response for someone whose
character is thevery embodiment
of peacekeeping, despitehaving to
put up with a lot of, well, shit.
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beauty queen and mother of two
young girls, 32-year-old Gadot is,
in essence, a real-life Wonder Woman. “I think [this
role] was in my DNA,” she says without hesitation.
“There was something in me that wanted to show we
don’t have to be the damsel in distress all the time, and
I wanted to portray that – the real side of women.”
Born in Israel, at 20 she enlisted as a soldier in the
Israel Defence Forces, spending two years in the army
(and a gruelling three months in combat training) –
a foundation she now credits as her Hollywood
education. She was Miss Israel 2004 and competed in
that year’s Miss Universe pageant, and spent a brief
stint in law school after her military service ended. She
was eventually cast as Gisele inFast & Furiousand,
a string of big-budget hits later, here we are.
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from the way the costumes lean towards practicality
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plays an equal role to power when it comes to her
superhero qualities. “She has the strength of a goddess,
but the heart of a human – she’s so compassionate,” says
Gadot. Last year, DC Comics writer Greg Rucka
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movie, but she’s a people person so maybe she can fall
in love with a woman... it just hasn’t happened yet.”
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Those with a more progressive view on feminism will
be gathering their girl gang to go see it – if only to let
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women in leading roles both in front and behind the
camera. But Gadot sees this as an opportunity to take
the conversation a step even further, towards gender
neutrality. “What’s so refreshing about
Wonder Woman is that she comes from
Paradise Island [inhabited only by women],
where everyone is equal. When she arrives
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strange that gender is a ‘thing’. If we can
neutralise, somehow, the way people
perceive gender, then it’s a win.”
Wonder Woman is out June 1“I WANTED
TO SHOW WE
DON’T HAVE TO
BE THE DAMSEL
IN DISTRESS
ALL THE TIME”GALPOWER
The actress with director
Patty Jenkins (top left)
and co-star Chris Pine