Gila Golan

	Gila Golan
	; Gila Golan
	Background information
Other names:	Gila Rosenhaus; Miriam Goldenberg
Spouse(s):	Alex Urban ; ( 1964; divored 1968); Matthew Bernard Rosenhaus; (1969 - 1980) died; Third husband?;
Parents:	Unknon
Occupation:	Model and actress
Years active	1964–1985
	Editor's note about articles in this category

Gila Golan (Hebrew: גילה גולן) is an Israeli actress and former model.

Early life

Golan does not know when or where she was born. Her parents were murdered during the Holocaust, and she was adopted by Zoshia Zawatcki, who saw her wandering the streets of Kraków. Her Polish family gave her the name Zoshia Zavatski, and later renamed her 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 drafted into the Israel Defense Forces because she did not know her age.

Career

Golan was discovered by an American photographer and appeared in the Israeli women's magazine LaIsha. In 1960, she was the runner-up to Aliza Gur for the title of Miss Israel. She placed second in the Miss World 1960 competition and changed her name to Gila Golan to prevent her religiously conservative family in Tel Aviv from discovering her involvement. 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, replacing Sabin Singen, who withdrew due to illness. She received acting lessons from Herbert Berghof. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association selected her to present awards at the 22nd Golden Globe Awards.

Golan starred in Our Man Flint, which was banned in Lebanon because she was an Israeli citizen. She also appeared in The Valley of Gwangi and Three on a Couch. Golan ended her career in 1969, citing her low pay of $150 a week for Our Man Flint while Columbia earned $1,500 since she was on loan. She also said her former agent was sabotaging her career. In the 1980s, she helped organize and fundraise for the 2nd Israel Film Festival.

Personal life

Golan married Alex Urban in 1964 but 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 U.S. citizen in 1969. Golan sold her apartment at The Pierre for $10 million in 2014. She now lives in Florida with her third husband.