Gal Next Door

WONDER WOMAN has been with us for decades, but 2017 was the year she finally got the blockbuster she deserved—and now GAL GADOT, the actual ex–Israeli soldier who played her, is Wonder Woman forever. Caity Weaver hits the beaches of Tel Aviv with Gadot and her many (many) fans

- Caity Weaver

THE DAY I MEET Wonder Woman by the seaside is a perfect beach day, bounded on either side by chains of perfect beach days. The sun is splendidious. The sky is a show-off blue. The people of Israel are wearing white sneakers and performing vigorous calisthenics in the free fitness parks that stipple the Tel Aviv shoreline in primary colors. The water is as warm and as salty as a basin of tears. The egg sandwich is unexpected.

Wonder Woman has brought me the egg sandwich wrapped in cellophane and, upon our meeting, delivers it to me as confidently as if I had specifically requested it. She also packed me a fluffy white bath towel from her own home. Wonder Woman is used to taking care of everything because she is the protector of mankind.

Here in the real world, Wonder Woman is Gal Gadot, and today Gal Gadot arrives at the beach wearing a couture black swimsuit that boasts leather accents; a deep, plunging neckline; and a field’s worth of laser-cut and embroidered flowers and leaves. It’s a bathing costume designed to be worn more in theory than in practice, yet it also seems to function as Gadot’s casual swimwear for bumming around. I recognize it from a recent Instagram post of Gadot in a pool with friends. When I mention this, she contorts her face in mock misery: “I cannot believe I wore the same swimsuit twice!”

She is spotted. She is spotted over and over again, probably a dozen times before we leave the beach. She obliges virtually every picture request, perhaps calculating that it will take longer to disappoint a fan than to smile and pose. Her trick is to say “Thanks!” the instant a photo has been taken—her polite signal that the interaction has concluded.