Gal Gadot Once Tried To Lose the Miss Universe Pageant on Purpose — ‘I Was Very Naughty’
Gal Gadot is one of the most popular actresses in the movie business today. Her highly anticipated film, Wonder Woman 1984 was recently released and has since made her a bonafide superstar.
Prior to acting, Gadot was living in Isreal and figuring out what she was going to do with her life. Between high school and her plans of joining the army, she ended up competing in the Miss Israel beauty pageant. The competition opened up a lot of doors for her, but only after she purposely bombed the Miss Universe pageant because she didn’t want to win.
Gal Gadot’s mom signed her up for the Miss Israel beauty pageant on a whim
Gadot initially had no intention of competing in the Miss Israel pageant, but her mother decided to send her photo to the competition committee.
“I was 18, I just graduated high school and I had some time in between going to the army,” Gadot said in a resurfaced 2017 W Magazine interview. “My mom figured, ‘Hey, why don’t I send your photo, you finished school, and this is like [a] proper pageant,’ whatever.”
Even after getting into the competition, Gadot had low expectations. When she ended up winning the Miss Israel pageant, she felt a bit overwhelmed.
“I got in, and I never thought I would win,” Gadot said. “And then I won, and then it scared me. I was like, ‘What? Miss Israel? All the responsibility of being Miss Israel?”
She tried to lose the Miss Universe pageant on purpose
After winning Miss Israel, she went on to compete in the Miss Universe pageant. However, she had no desire to win the pageant and acted out in hopes of losing.
“I was very naughty, I wasn’t behaving,” Gadot said. “I’m a really good girl, but because I was afraid I’m going to win again—because I didn’t want to win the Miss Israel pageant and then I won—I figured, ‘Oh no, I don’t want them to choose me again.’”
In her attempt at self-sabotage, Gadot tried everything she could think of to lessen her chances of winning.
“So I came down late to all the rehearsals, and I wasn’t wearing the right evening gowns for breakfast,” Gadot said. “I even remember Paula Abdul, she was one of the judges there and she was asking me a question and I was like, ‘I’m sorry, English not so good.’ Because I just didn’t want to have anything to do with that.”
The ‘Wonder Woman’ star transitioned into acting shortly after
Not long after the pageant, Gadot hired an agent and started showing up on different casting directors’ radar. However, she had no desire to become an actress either.
“I wasn’t an actress back then,” Gadot said. “This casting director flew from England to Israel and she was looking for the [James] Bond girl. When my agent told me about that I was like, ‘No way I’m gonna audition, I’m studying law and international relationship, and way too smart and serious for being an actress.’”
Finally, after going to numerous auditions, Gadot realized how much fun acting could be as a career.
“I had a callback, and another callback, and another, and throughout this process, I realized that ‘G–damn, acting is so much more fun than going to law school,” Gadot said.
