
Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!
Thank you for signing up to Marie Claire. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
It's a hectic lunchtime at the Chateau Marmont when Gal Gadot arrives, stopping briefly in the patio to embrace a friend before finding her seat. As she does, another loose acquaintance pops by to admire her Burberry ankle boots, then lingers. Gadot, 32, graciously accepts the compliment, smoothing her sweater over her Wolford black pants and leaning back with an exhale familiar to any woman who has ever been in her third trimester. (Her daughter Maya was born in March, joining 5-year-old sister Alma.)
Her hair is pulled into a tidy ponytail, eyes lined with black liquid. The look—sharp, cosmopolitan ease—is a refined contrast to the L.A. scene (where many adults still seem to compete over who can spend the most money to dress like a child). When the visitor at last departs the table, Gadot winces, embarrassed by the unsolicited attention.
"When I first came to Los Angeles, I couldn't read people," she says frankly. "I always felt there was a subtext." It's an opaqueness absent in her home country, where unfiltered boldness rules the day. "In Israel, people have chutzpah," she asserts, raising a fist. "People take issue with it, but I'd rather have that than play games. Here, everyone's like, 'We love you; you're so wonderful.' I prefer to know the truth, not waste time."
In Israel, people have chutzpah. People take issue with it, but I'd rather have that than play games.
It is this directness that makes Gadot the best kind of girl's girl, a woman with backbone and no taste for bullshit. You see it in her public appearances, where she is unfailingly quick to give shout-outs to female colleagues. You hear it from Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins, who calls Gadot one of the most genuine, solid women she's ever met. You feel it when Gadot meets you in person for the first time and gives you a full body-contact hug—even though she is eight months pregnant, a stage where most women don't want anything, let alone anyone, touching their body. A body that, pregnancy aside, has been the subject of much public scrutiny since Gadot's casting as Wonder Woman.
Here, a few highlights from our interview, in our June issue on newsstands May 16:
On being a confident woman: "My mom raised my sister and me to be confident women with aspirations. And I always felt capable. I'm not saying that I'm stronger than most men…but we all have the same brains and we can achieve the same things."
On life in Los Angeles vs. Israel: "When I first came to Los Angeles, I couldn't read people. In Israel, people have chutzpah. People take issue with it, but I'd rather have that than play games. I prefer to know the truth, not waste time."
On dealing with adversity: "I don't enjoy conflict in my life. Unlike Wonder Woman, I'm not a fighter [but] I will fight for good."
On her hope for equal rights for women: "There's a long way to go until we can make gender a nonissue. I don't know if it'll ever happen. I'm hoping it will because life would be so much cooler and less complicated then. Also, for men, by the way."
Read the full interview and see more photographs in the June issue of Marie Claire, on newsstands May 16. And for a little behind-the-scenes action to hold you over, see more of Gadot at her cover shoot here:
Featured Music: etcetc music - "Lifted"
Marie Claire Newsletter
Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!
Writer for magazines, TV, film. Easy crier, mulish southerner, recent day drinker, filled with the fury of bees. allisonglock.com.
-
Jodie Turner-Smith Files for Divorce from Joshua Jackson After Nearly Four Years of Marriage
The two share a three-year-old daughter and have been together since 2018.
By Rachel Burchfield
-
Meghan Markle, U.S. Senator? Maybe, and Maybe Sooner Than You Think
Her name is being offered up to possibly fill the U.S. Senate seat of California Democrat Dianne Feinstein, who died Friday at age 90.
By Rachel Burchfield
-
Anne Hathaway Is Bringing Back the Beehive
It's no surprise she can rock the '60s hairstyle.
By Sophia Rivka Vilensky
-
Sarah Hyland and Adam Devine Play 'How Well Do You Know Your Co-Star?'
The 'Modern Family' stars reunited for the 'Pitch Perfect' spinoff series.
By Brooke Knappenberger
-
The 78 Best Celebrity Couple Halloween Costumes of All Time
Honestly, we're impressed.
By Charlotte Chilton
-
Super Rare Photos of Queen Elizabeth as a Young Woman
From childhood snapshots to portraits as a young princess, beautiful and rare photos of the late Queen Elizabeth as a young woman.
By Mehera Bonner
-
King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla's Relationship: A Timeline
With the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, Charles has ascended to the throne as king.
By The Editors
-
Who Is Next in Line for the British Throne, Explained
And yes—Harry and Archie are still in the line of succession.
By Andrea Park
-
Who Is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Fiancé Riley Roberts?
AOC's husband-to-be is an "easygoing redhead" who lives with her in D.C.
By Katherine J. Igoe
-
22 Captivating Films About Royal Life
Once you've finished 'The Crown,' cue up one of these royally good films.
By Nicole Briese
-
68 Times the Kardashians Posed Fully Nude and Owned It
And we mean fully nude—as in, not a shred of clothing.
By Bianca Rodriguez