26 August] 1894 – 10 June 1982), usually known simply as Gala, was the wife of poet Paul Éluard and later of artist Salvador Dalí, who were both prominent in surrealism.

In early August 1929, Éluard and Gala visited a young Surrealist painter in Spain, the emerging Salvador Dalí.

Gala had a strong libido and, throughout her marriage with Dalí, had numerous other sexual partners, including her former husband Paul Éluard.

[7] In the months before her death, Gala had battled a severe case of influenza, after which she began to exhibit signs of dementia.

[11] Gala is a frequent model in Dalí's work, often in religious roles such as the Blessed Virgin Mary in the 1949 painting The Madonna of Port Lligat.

In Portrait of Galarina (1940–1945), Gala's face is shown severe and confrontational, her bared breast meant to depict bread, and the snake on the arm a gift of Dalí's sponsor Edward James.

[2] Gala, played by Dita Von Teese, is a major character in the 2005 short film The Death of Salvador Dali.