Israel’s Gal Gadot is a new kind of Wonder Woman: the actress-model-mom is fixing the princess role model and creating a strong, kindhearted role model.

”I am so happy to be the one who is going to tell the Wonder Woman story. It is so important for girls and boys to have a strong female superhero to look up to,” Gadot recently wrote in a Twitter Q&A with fans.

In fact, film critics and fans — who vocalized their worries when Gadot was initially cast as the iconic Amazonian princess — would seem to agree that this former Miss Israel winner is the best choice for the part.

“It was Gadot’s character who turned out to be Batman v Superman‘s biggest draw for audiences,” reports the Independent.

“The stunning and aristocratic Gal Gadot shows up, all too briefly, as Diana Prince/Wonderwoman: It’s a delight to watch her laugh in the face of danger,” reads a review in TIME magazine.

The Guardian hailed the lasso-twirling heroine as the “best thing in the movie” and a Forbes reviewer wrote that “we only get enough Wonder Woman to leave us wanting more.”

Since BvS hit the theaters, Gadot – along with the rest of the cast – has been interviewed extensively. While she could simply talk about the movie and her upcoming solo feature, Gadot instead uses the platform to talk about life in Israel, her family and creating a new princess role model for today’s audiences.

Gadot has said the rigorous workouts she did to put on 17 pounds of muscle to play Diana Prince reminded her of her days as an IDF combat trainer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4SJ_zsZUtA

Gadot says that she wishes no country would need an army but tells People magazine: “Unfortunately, that is not the case, especially in Israel.

Part of being Israeli is to go to the army. All my friends went, my parents went and my grandparents went.”

“She brings something particular, something statuesque, something otherworldly to the character,” Henry Cavill, who plays Superman, has said about Gadot’s Wonder Woman. “It’s remarkable to see.”

Articles have revealed that Gadot was set on a law career before a talent scout persuaded the now 30-year-old Rosh Ha’ayin native to enter modeling. The acting world was soon to follow.

Gadot was asked to audition for the role of “Bond girl,” didn’t make the cut, was instead cast in Fast & Furious, and soon became a hot name in Hollywood.

Gadot can currently be seen in BvS and Criminal. She’s filming roles in Justice League Part One and Wonder Woman.

Gadot seems happy to be a role model for girls, especially as the title character in Wonder Woman is not just a damsel in distress but rather a woman who stands by her beliefs in “compassion, love, truth, justice, equality.”

On The Ellen Show, Gadot spoke about her four-year-old daughter’s lack of excitement about princesses, noting how “princesses always fall asleep and do nothing” and how bringing Wonder Woman to life on the big screen made her feel “so good.”