Born
Alizia Gross on 1 April 1940 in
Ramat Gan,
British Mandate of Palestine (now
Israel), to a family of
Ashkenazi Jewish descent. Her parents had fled
Nazi Germany during Hitler's dictatorship and settled in the city of Ramat Gan where she and her brother were born. She studied at the
University of Haifa, where she designed and made dresses to help pay for her tuition. Her first pageant win was as Miss
Haifa. She enlisted as a soldier in the
Israel Defense Forces. Gur also studied acting in Tel Aviv under Peter Fry, a well known director. After her success in national and international beauty pageants, she settled in
California, where she began her film and television career. Her parents emigrated to the United States, as well, and settled in
Cleveland, Ohio, for a time; they died in the 1970s. In 1960, she toured America to help support the purchase of Israeli Bonds. ==Acting career==