Aliza Gur Biography
Aliza Gur, born Alizia Gross, was a trailblazer in the entertainment industry. Born on April 1, 1940 in Ramat Gan, British Mandate of Palestine (now Israel), she was raised in a family of Ashkenazi Jewish descent who had fled Nazi Germany.
A former Miss Israel and a semi-finalist in the Miss Universe pageant in 1960, Aliza’s striking beauty and talent quickly made her a well-known figure in the entertainment world.
Before her rise to fame, Aliza Gur was a student at the University of Haifa, where she designed and made dresses to pay for her tuition. Her first pageant win was as Miss Haifa, and she went on to serve in the Israel Defense Forces. Her acting talent was honed in Tel Aviv under the guidance of well-known director Peter Fry.
She had a couple of uncredited roles in films before getting her big break in 1963, and her most famous role as Vida in the James Bond film, From Russia with Love. In this role she played a minor character who gets into a catfight with rival Zora played by Miss Jamaica’s Martine Beswick.
Aliza’s move to California marked the beginning of her film and television career. She made a guest appearance on Perry Mason in 1965 and went on to appear in popular shows like The Big Valley, Get Smart, and The Wild Wild West. Some other film credits include Night Train to Paris, and Tarzan and the Jungle Boy (1968), and The Hand of Night (1968) was her last movie role..
Aliza Gur was married twice, first to Sy Shulman, and later to Sheldon Schrager. She has one child.