The INSIDER Summary:

One of "Wonder Woman" actress Gal Gadot's biggest challenges is managing family life and work.

Gadot told a crowd Sunday at the 92Y that you always feel guilty you're either not doing enough at home or on the job.

She said she recently had a revelation about balancing the two. While her two children are always her first priority, she said you're not supposed to change your life for your kids.

Gadot recalled filming "Wonder Woman" where she was away from her daughter Alma for much of the six months. Though she was on set and FaceTiming with her, she felt like that wasn't enough.

When the first positive reviews for the movie came out, Gadot said it was all worth it.

Alma jumped in her arms and told her mom she was proud of her. Gadot refers to the success of "Wonder Woman" as a family achievement though, not one that belongs to her alone.



Gal Gadot is one of the biggest stars in Hollywood right now, but even Wonder Woman can struggle with managing family life and her work.

"It's one of my biggest challenges. I think that every mother who has a career can relate to it," Gadot told the crowd at the 92Y Sunday. "You're always feeling guilty that you're not doing enough at home or you're not working enough on the treatment, script, whatever it is."

Recently, the 32-year-old actress said she had a revelation about balancing work and her family life.

"At the end of the day, your kids join your life and you bring them here and they join your life. You're not supposed to change your life to accommodate the children," said Gadot. "Now, of course, our children are always the very first up high priority, but I realized that it's OK to have a different life. It's OK not to have a routine and not to be like everyone else. And, it's OK as long as the family's together and you're happy and you do it together, it's great."

Gal Gadot and her husband Yaron Versano at the "Wonder Woman" premiere. Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, INSIDER composite

To show what she was talking about, Gadot recalled a sweet story about her oldest daughter, Alma.

While filming "Wonder Woman," Gadot said she was working six days a week for six months. But even on the days off, she found herself working and preparing for the movie. It was especially hard being away from Alma.

"Back then, I only had my six-year-old and I couldn't spend enough time with her, the amount of time that I wanted to, and I felt so guilty," said Gadot about working away from her family. "I brought her to set and I did FaceTime with her the entire time. We brought family to be with her. It's been like a circus."

Gadot said she finally felt the payoff of her hard work when she was back home with her daughter and was waiting for the reviews to pour in from the summer movie. On the night the "Wonder Woman" reviews were coming out, Alma wanted her mother to put her to bed.

"I told her, 'I will put you to bed. I'm going to read a story, but by nine, I got to work.' [Alma] said, 'Of course, of course, of course,'" said Gadot.

Naturally, Alma didn't want her mom to leave her side though. So Gadot brought her laptop into her daughter's room. When the reviews started pouring in, they were immensely positive. Gadot said she was blown away.

"So I tell Alma, 'You've got to try and fall asleep. I'm going to make a phone call to [director] Patty [Jenkins]," Gadot said.

"Wonder Woman" director Patty Jenkins with Gal Gadot at the premiere of the movie. Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

But it's tough for any six-year-old to go to sleep when they know something's up. As the two celebrated on the phone and read each other quotes from critics, Gadot said Alma came up alongside her.

"All of a sudden, Alma was sitting like this next to me, looking into my eye and jumped, hugging me," said Gadot. "And she said, 'I'm so proud of you Mommy.'"

Gadot said the lesson from all of that, which she shared with her daughter, was that hard work pays off and the "Wonder Woman" actress couldn't have done it without her family.

❤️ #nationalhugday A post shared by Gal Gadot (@gal_gadot) on Jan 21, 2016 at 2:42pm PST Jan 21, 2016 at 2:42pm PST

"You see, all the time when I didn't get to see you enough and I was working and it was cold and you came to see me on set and we hated it?" Gadot said to much laughter from the crowd. "We worked hard enough. People love the movie. It was worth it. It was worth it. [Alma] started getting happy tears and it was like our entire family achievement. It wasn't just me. It was all of us."