Is She Ricky Gervais's Real Niece?

There’s a solid chance you’ve seen that Audi A3 commercial starring Ricky Gervais. "Which one?!" you ask. "There are two Audi ads featuring Russell Crowe's drinking buddy!" Ah, right. I'm talking about the ad with the little girl reading harsh tweets about “Uncle Ricky” out loud. "Of course I've seen it," you say. "It's been running for months. Where are you going with this?" Keep on reading, my friend. Keep on reading.

The first 40 or so times I saw the TV spot, I didn't question whether or not the bespectacled tweet reader is Gervais's real niece. As a matter of fact, I didn't really think about it at all. If you'd asked me if the two of them are actually related, I would've shrugged and said, "I dunno, man. Can you hand me the queso?"

While I was watching one of my stories this week, I saw the ad for the nth time. But rather than shrug and go about my business, something happened. Something changed. I needed to know if Gervais's ad niece was his IRL niece. I would live a life of ignorance no longer. I would search far and wide for the answer (i.e., look up the answer on the Internet).

What I found: Eliza Holland Madore plays the adorable kid who calls Gervais a "fang-face wimp" (okay, okay. She doesn't call him that. A tweeter does), and she is not Gervais's niece. Holland Madore is a TV, film, and stage actress. There you have it!

She may not be his IRL niece, but she is super cute:

Image: AudiofAmerica/YouTube