Who Is The Gymnast In The GEICO Commercial?
Two dudes are playing frisbee in the front yard when one lets it fly onto the roof after a GEICO announcer throws him off his game. Unrealistic advertising? Sure, but that's the whole point. It gets better when a gymnast chalks up her hands. She runs by the guys, flies through the air, spins around a tree branch, and sticks her landing on the roof, where she retrieves the disk. Expertly flipping through the air, she lands on the ground, where she returns the item to the dazed and amazed young men.
Whenever cameras are involved, you have to wonder if you can believe what you're seeing. In this case, the skepticism is heightened. Who could possibly perform such stunts in real life? If anyone could do it, our bets are on this woman, a Fierce Five gymnast who took home a gold medal with her team and a silver medal for her individual performance on vault at the 2012 Olympic Games.
She retired from gymnastics in 2016. She started studying at a music school and told GymCastic she was ready to pursue another goal she'd always had in mind. She wanted to be an actress, and now, she's well on her way. After all, that frisbee-on-the-roof ad isn't the first time she's made headlines for onscreen appearances.
McKayla Maroney went viral after the 2012 Olympics
Imagine performing at such a high level in your chosen sport that you've just won a silver medal at the Olympic Games. You're standing on the podium with the whole world watching. Could you possibly stop yourself from looking a little excited?
Maybe we couldn't, but Maroney did exactly that at the 2012 Olympics. Twisting her mouth sideways, she appeared more focused on the fall that cost her the gold. "I was sad. I was upset. And I was not impressed," she told Inside Gymnastics Magazine.
Her look was captured on camera, and the next thing she knew, it was a viral meme. Suddenly, Maroney was famous for her "not impressed" face, and she had two choices: She could worry if people thought she was a poor sport, or she could make the moment into something positive.
A few weeks later, her choice was clear. Maroney took control of the story, posting an Instagram picture of herself and her teammates, Aly Raisman and Kyla Ross, all making "the face" because the pool they wanted to visit was closed. She wasn't the victim of a viral meme. She was in on the joke.
She won a recurring role in Hart of Dixie
In 2012, Maroney was excited to jumpstart her acting career when she got a guest role on The CW's "Hart of Dixie." As Tonya, she was cast in one episode to play Rose's (McKaley Miller) best friend. Right away, Maroney knew acting was for her. The hard work and dedication required felt familiar.
"I love it so much. It's a full-time job, just like gymnastics," she said to Teen Vogue. "I'm in the gym eight hours a day, and it's the same as acting when you're filming from the morning all the way to the night. It's definitely something that I want to do more of in the future."
Her wish came true almost instantly. Maroney was cast in five additional episodes of the series, appearing as Tonya twice in Season 2, once in Season 3, and twice more in the show's fourth and final season.
Maroney played a murder suspect
In 2013, Maroney auditioned for a part on Fox's "Bones." It didn't go perfectly. "I had strep throat when I went in," she told TV Guide. "I didn't know my lines or anything! I just kind of winged it."
She won the role anyway, playing Ellie, a gymnast who becomes a murder suspect when her top competition turns up dead. Maroney took her work on "Bones" seriously — in fact, she got deeply involved in her character's drama. "She wants to be the best, which I can relate to ... The weird thing is, when I was on set, it was really emotional because a little part of you thinks, 'What if this happened at my gym?' It's scary," she said.
The part was perfect for Maroney, since it called for acting skills while tapping into her talents as an athlete, too. "I had to do gymnastics, like I did a round of handspring layouts, which I do every day in the gym and isn't hard for me to do. But it was very hard for me to be ready to do gymnastics and then be ready to act," she explained. "I would do a tumbling pass and then have to talk. But that's how it's supposed to be, like I'm in the gym and it's OK if I'm out of breath. It was an amazing experience. I had so much fun."
Maroney performed a perfect handstand for GEICO
This past spring, Maroney appeared in a GEICO commercial — and no, that Frisbee ad wasn't her first. In April, she joined the insurance company's efforts to deter distracted driving. The new ad started with a graphic, depicting Maroney as a superhero making her famous scowling face. Her job was to inspire drivers to turn their phones to "do not disturb mode" while behind the wheel.
"What do you think, you're gonna miss a text from me offering to teach you how to do this?" She asks this question, moving into handstand position and turning her head toward the camera. "Nope, too risky."
An athlete with such perfect form naturally attracts attention, and Maroney's onscreen work has shown she's a solid actress, too. We're sure to see more of her in the future, both in roles that require her specific gymnastic skillset, and others that don't require a silver medal.