This past week has been a whirlwind for 19-year-old Jewish Israeli model Eden Polani.
First, pictures of her seated next to Leonardo DiCaprio at a party in Los Angeles in January sparked rumors that the pair were dating. Soon, the internet (including us at Hey Alma) noted our concern that DiCaprio, who has never publicly dated a woman over the age of 25, was possibly involved with someone 29 years his junior. And finally, on February 8, a source confirmed to People that Leo and Eden are not dating, saying, “Leo and Eden just so happened to have been seated next to each other at the party, and were hanging in the same group… Just because Leo might be talking to or sitting with a girl doesn’t mean he’s dating her.”
Let’s all take a moment for a collective sigh of relief. Whew!
Regardless of how the world came to know about the model, we still think Eden is supremely talented — she could even be the next Bar Refaeli!
So, here are 18 things to know about Eden Polani.
1. She was born on March 2, 2003 in Israel to a Jewish family.
2. This makes her astrological sign Pisces!
3. In Hebrew, her name means “pleasure.”
4. Her mother is religious and her father is secular — they are divorced. However, Eden grew up in a religious household.
5. She has said that her Jewish faith is what stabilizes her and that she keeps Shabbat.
6. According to Eden, avoiding lashon hara (or gossip) is the most important mitzvah. So, on behalf of the internet, we are very sorry for that whole Leonardo DiCaprio thing.
7. She is signed to Israel-based modeling agency IT Models.
8. She currently has over 235K followers on Instagram.
9. She’s not afraid to rock denim-on-denim:
10. Her biggest fear is losing her faith. Her next biggest fear is cockroaches!
11. She does pilates.
12. Before being linked to Leo DiCaprio, Eden was dating Gil Ofer, the son of Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer.
13. She has been on the cover of Glamour Bulgaria!
14. She wants to study psychology.
15. During the flair-up of violence in Israel during May 2021, Eden posted the message, “Shavua tov, praying for better days 🙏🏼❤️” on Instagram.
16. In 2021 she was part of an anti-bullying campaign with Israeli organization Achim Gdolim.
17. Apparently, Eden recently turned down a job at New York Fashion Week because it conflicted with Shabbat!
The current israeli gossip is that Leo's new underage Israeli girlfriend is shomer shabbat and my mind is exploding pic.twitter.com/xwX9NfvXdV
— Shayna Weiss (@shaynamalka) February 8, 2023
18. Here’s another video of her modeling in action, simply because we think she’s a star:
