Back in December of 2024, “Wonder Woman” Gal Gadot, 39, marked Hanukkah with a social media post about how she almost didn’t survive the birth of her youngest daughter, Ori (whose name means “my light”) earlier that year. At eight months pregnant, the Israeli actress was diagnosed with blood clots in her brain that could’ve led to a stroke. She was rushed into an emergency C-section and then to brain surgery.
In a recent interview while promoting her new film, “Snow White,” Gadot shared that it was actually her mother who may have been the one to save her life. The actress spent three weeks of her third trimester with major debilitating headaches that left her unable to do anything except sit in the dark, struggling to hear and feeling like her head was about to explode. Doctors couldn’t find a cure to her symptoms.
Finally, on February 5, 2024, Gadot’s mother, Irit, who the actress says she talks to “a million times a day,” said that enough was enough. Driven by “mother’s instinct,” or intuition, she told her daughter that she had to go to the hospital and do an MRI immediately. Gadot protested at first — it was the rainiest day of the year, roads were backed up, schools were closed — but her mother insisted that she had to go “get it checked out now.”
Irit is a teacher by trade, and so is good at getting people to do things, it seems. The now mother of four acquiesced, and quickly from there, Gadot was diagnosed with cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT), multiple blood clots across her brain, a rare but deadly pregnancy complication.
“I’m fine now, I had known earlier it could have been easier,” she told “Good Morning America.” “I’m very happy to be alive, and I’m so grateful for everything.” And we’re so grateful to Irit for insisting that her daughter take her health concerns seriously.
Earlier this month, at ADL’s Never Again Is Now Conference, Gadot spoke about how she’s teaching her daughters to stand up for themselves and for other women, and teaching them to be proud of their Jewish identities. “It’s time to pass on to our children a love of who they are,” she declared. It looks like Irit definitely gave Gal a love of who she is and taught her the importance to advocate for other women, too.
On “Good Morning America,” Gadot urged viewers to do just that — always advocate for your health, never delay check-ups and listen to your body. It’s such an important message in a world where the medical concerns of women still so often get overlooked. Heck, even “Wonder Woman” herself struggled to get her serious condition diagnosed.
Although perhaps the most important unspoken lesson one can glean from that experience is to always listen to your Jewish mother.
