Entertainment

'Fuller House' Has A New Gia & Here's Why You Might Like Her Even More

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To counterbalance all of the corny love that the Fuller-Tanner-Gibbler house embodies, Fuller House introduced Gia's family onto the scene in Season 3. Jackson meets Gia's daughter on Fuller House while attending summer school. Just like her mom, Rocki is a tough girl with a bullying streak, but she eventually becomes a little smitten with all of the love that the Fullers have to offer. And while the Netflix revival features a ton of child actors, Gia's daughter should look more familiar than most since Landry Bender plays Rocki in Fuller House Season 3. Although Bender isn't a household name, the teenage actor has some Disney shows and one major movie among her acting credits.

Bender is no stranger to TV shows since she portrayed Cleo Bernstein in the Disney XD show Crash & Bernstein from 2012 to 2014. She was also on another Disney-created show, Best Friends Whenever on the Disney Channel, as Cyd from 2015 to 2016. But where most adults will probably know Bender from is her role in the 2011 movie The Sitter. Jonah Hill babysat a young Bender as she played the makeup-wearing and pop-culture obsessed Blithe. The R-rated The Sitter is a far cry from the wholesomeness featured in Fuller House, but Bender does have a streak of purple in her hair in both.

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The Sitter and Fuller House are drastically different, but Bender does play a troublemaker in both. In the latter, like her mother Gia, she is judgmental of the hug-obsessed Fuller-Tanner family. However, while Marla Sokoloff's Gia is still bullying even as an adult, there is far more hope for Rocki to end up nice. First off, although she teases Jackson, she's not as cruel as Gia was to Stephanie back in the 1990s — or as cruel as Gia is to D.J. in the 2010s. And with a mom like Gia, it's easy to understand where Rocki's mean streak comes from.

As shown in Episode 7 of Season 3, "Say Yes To The Dress," Rocki's home life isn't as idyllic as that of the Fuller kids. After dropping off Rocki at D.J.'s to study with Jackson, Gia leaves Rocki there overnight while she's on a Tinder date with a guy whose name Gia doesn't remember. No judgement for Gia dating the way she wants to, but Rocki clearly doesn't have the stable, fawning household that Jackson has. Yet, that gives Rocki time to experience the Fullers in all their glory and it ends up with her softening to the family. She bonds with Ramona when it comes to teasing Jackson, kisses baby Tommy, and participates in a family "Aww." So while she's still quick with a snarky comeback just like her mom Gia — like when she says, "Mom, you left me in a cult. I had to fit in to survive" about why she's wearing a pink dress — there's a chance that she actually likes the love the Fullers have to offer. And perhaps, she may even date Jackson down the line, especially since Lola broke up with him earlier in Season 3.

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As for outside of Fuller House, Bender's IMDb page notes that she'll be in the movie A World Away with another Disney Channel star (and fellow '90s TV show reboot star) Rowan Blanchard. She also has an active social media presence on Twitter and Instagram. Through the pictures she shares, Bender definitely gives off some young Hailee Steinfeld vibes.

With Fuller House liking to keep things in the family, Bender as Rocki is an addition that original Full House fans can get behind — especially since it means more of Sokoloff's Gia. And with Rocki by his side, Jackson may learn to toughen up a little bit as they go into high school next season... and Rocki may learn to let a little of that Tanner/Fuller love get to her heart. Everybody wins.