Gila Golan

Who is Gila Golan?

Gila Golan is a Polish-born, Israeli former fashion model and actress.

Golan was born in Krakow, Poland, around 1940. Her exact birthday is not known, as she was hidden from the Nazis at a young age. However, she has adopted the birthday of December 30, 1940, for herself. She was found, as an abandoned baby, on the streets of Krakow. A Roman Catholic family found her left in a bundle at a train station during the Holocaust, and adopted her during the war. Her adopted family named her Zoshia Zavatski. After the war, she went to a home for 'lost' Jewish children. Arriving in Israel in 1951, with the name Zusia Sobetzcki, she became Miriam Goldberg and continued her schooling in an Orthodox girls' boarding school. Within a few years she had joined a Kibbutz, and was studying to be a teacher.

She was spotted by an American photographer, and ultimately ended up in the Israeli women's magazine LaIsha. Her new fame launched her to the 1960 national fashion competition, where she won first place and was crowned as "Na'arat Israel", i.e. Israel's Maiden of Beauty though she changed her name to Gila Golan to prevent word getting back to her religiously conservative benefactors. After receiving second place in that year's Miss World competition as Israel's representative, she was sent to the United States to raise funds. While modelling in New York, she won a contract with Columbia Pictures.