Gila Golan

Gila Golan is an Israeli actress and former model.

Early life Golan does not know when or where she was born. Her parents were murdered in the Holocaust and she was adopted by Zoshia Zawatcki, who saw her wandering the streets of Kraków. She was given the name Zoshia Zavatski by her Polish family and renamed to Mara Goldenberg in Israel. She also used the names Miriam Goldenberg and Gila Goldenberg.

Golan attended a Youth Aliyah boarding school in Aix-les-Bains, France for two years before moving to Israel on January 14, 1948. She worked at a kibbutz for four years. Golan was not conscripted into the Israel Defense Forces due to her not knowing her age.

Career Golan was spotted by an American photographer and appeared in the Israeli women's magazine LaIsha. In 1960, she was the runner-up for Miss Israel behind Aliza Gur. She placed second in the Miss World 1960 competition and changed her name to Gila Golan to prevent the religiously conservative family she lived with in Tel Aviv from learning about it. She was sent to the United States to raise funds after the competition.

In June 1964, Golan signed a contract with Columbia Pictures. Her first role was as Elsa Lutz in Ship of Fools as a replacement for Sabin Singen, who dropped out due to illness. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association selected her to hand out the awards for the 22nd Golden Globe Awards.

Golan starred in Our Man Flint, which was banned in Lebanon due to her being an Israeli citizen. She also appeared in The Valley of Gwangi In the 1980s she aided the fundraising and organization of the 2nd Israel Film Festival.

Personal life Golan married Alex Urban in 1964, but became separated in 1965, and divorced in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, in 1967. She married Matthew Bernard Rosenhaus on September 16, 1969, in Montreal, Canada, and had three children with him. Rosenhaus became the largest stockholder in Columbia in 1973.

The city of Seattle ceremonially adopted Golan on April 29, 1966, with Mayor James d'Orma Braman as her godfather. She became a citizen of the United States in 1969. Golan sold her apartment at The Pierre for $10 million in 2014. She now lives in Florida with her third husband.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes Reference 1965 Ship of Fools Elsa 1966 Our Man Flint Gila 1967 Catch as Catch Can Emma 1969 The Valley of Gwangi T.J.