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‘Wonder Woman’ Star Gal Gadot and More Pageant Queens-Turned-Actresses

Gal Gadot Miss Isreal
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Before landing the coveted role of Wonder Woman, Gal Gadot competed in beauty pageants in her native Israel.

Gadot won Miss Israel back in 2004, and went on to compete at Miss Universe.

Gadot learned poise and how to compete in the pageant circuit, but it was her two years of mandatory service in the Israeli army that helped her nab a role in the “Fast and the Furious” franchise.

“I think the main reason was that [director] Justin Lin really liked that I was in the military, and he wanted to use my knowledge of weapons,” she told Forward in 2011.

She played Gisele in “Fast Five” and “Fast & Furious 6.”

Gadot’s not the only former pageant queen to make it in Hollywood: 1986 Miss USA runner-up Halle Berry ended up winning the best actress Oscar just 15 years after losing that title.

Two Miss Worlds from India — Aishwarya Rai and Priyanka Chopra — have transitioned successfully from Bollywood to Hollywood; the latter stars on “Quantico” and played the villain in the recent “Baywatch” movie.

To see who else went from beauty queen to leading lady, check out the gallery below.

Beauty Queens Turned Leading Actresses