Salvador Dalí’s wife, known publicly as Gala, was born Elena Dmitrievna Diakonova.
She was born in Kazan, Russia, in 1894 and later became a major figure in the European avant-garde. Before marrying Dalí, she had been married to the poet Paul Éluard. She also had relationships with artists and writers connected with the Surrealist movement.
Gala met Dalí in 1929, when she was still Éluard’s wife. She became his partner, muse, business manager, and a powerful influence on his career. Dalí often represented her in paintings, sometimes under mythological or religious identities.
Her public name, Gala, can lead to confusion because it is a nickname rather than her birth name. Dalí and Gala married in a civil ceremony in 1934 and later had a Catholic ceremony in 1958. She died in 1982.