JERUSALEM (JTA) — GQ named Israeli actress Gal Gadot its 2017 Woman of the Year — rebranding the honor “Wonder Woman of the Year” in her honor.
Gadot soared to international celebrity as the star of this year’s “Wonder Woman” blockbuster. Since the release of the movie, which grossed $412 million at the box office worldwide, she has become a household name in the United States and a source of pride for Israelis.
As Woman of the Year, Gadot will appear on the cover of GQ, a New York-based men’s magazine.
The article will be published Wednesday, but the monthly has already posted a teaser on its website, touting Gadot as a former Miss Israel and soldier in that nation’s army, and a “real-life badass.”
“This is what happens when you attempt to ambush Wonder Woman: The instant your hands fall upon her, she’s already holding them — your hands are her hands now. The next second is a blur,” Caity Weaver writes in an excerpt of her GQ article. “Your body goes earthward, and your arms get trapped by hers, forcing you to crumple over … You are at Wonder Woman’s mercy.”
Weaver traveled to Tel Aviv to interview Gadot.
Dating back to 2003, GQ honorees have included actresses Angelina Jolie, Scarlett Johansson and Mila Kunis, musicians Rihanna, Gwen Stefani and M.I.A., and tennis star Maria Sharapova.
This year, three men are being honored with Gadot: Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who launched a movement by kneeling on the sideline during the national anthem to protest police violence against African-Americans and has filed a grievance against the league saying the owners are colluding to keep him out; late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert; and Kevin Durant of the NBA world champion Golden State Warriors.
Gadot, who has become a feminist icon, signed on to make a “Wonder Woman” sequel. But on Saturday, the Page Six gossip website reported that she was threatening to back out of the role unless producer Bret Ratner is ousted from the project. Ratner is one of many prominent men in Hollywood and elsewhere to be accused of sexual misconduct in recent weeks.
