The gymnastics chapter ended with a two-word post on X: “✌️ out gymnastics it’s been real.”
Olivia “Livvy” Dunne typed that on April 18, 2025, sitting in the stands at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, watching her LSU teammates compete in an NCAA semifinal she couldn’t be part of. She had fractured her kneecap in March. The Tigers finished third and didn’t defend their title. The career she had spent nearly two decades building was over, and she had to watch the ending from a chair.
Eleven months later, she was on set in Venice Beach, in a red one-piece swimsuit, filming her first scenes for Fox’s Baywatch reboot.
At 23 years old, Dunne has already been the highest-earning female college athlete in NCAA history, a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover model, a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, and the founder of a fund that has helped dozens of other female athletes secure their own deals. The gymnastics career she sacrificed most of her childhood for turned out to be the launchpad, not the destination.
Growing Up in Hillsdale, Homeschooled, and Flipping Full-Time
Dunne was born on October 1, 2002, in Westwood, New Jersey, and grew up in Hillsdale, NJ. She started gymnastics in 2005 at ENA Gymnastics in Paramus, New Jersey, at age three. By the time she was fourteen, the training schedule had become intensive enough that her mother began homeschooling her to create more time for the gym.
That decision, practical at the time, would later become a minor subplot. Her older sister, Julz Dunne, went to public school. In the Amazon Prime documentary The Money Game, Julz observed with characteristic sibling bluntness that Livvy had “no character development” because she never had to navigate real-world social situations. “She didn’t go to public school. I did,” Julz added. It was a roast delivered with love and went immediately viral.
Livvy’s coach through her elite years was Craig Zappa. By 2014 she had begun competing at the elite level, qualifying for the National Championships in 2015. In 2017, she earned a spot on the U.S. Junior Women’s National Team, confirming her as one of the top young gymnasts in the country.
She joined the LSU Tigers gymnastics program in 2021, the same year the NCAA changed its NIL rules.
The NIL Era, The Livvy Fund, and $9.5 Million in College
The timing was not accidental. Livvy and Julz had been building her social media presence for years before the rule change, knowing the opportunity would arrive. When the July 1, 2021 NCAA NIL ruling took effect, Dunne was already one of the most-followed college athletes in the country.
Brands lined up. American Eagle, Vuori Clothing, BodyArmor, Nautica, and over a dozen others signed deals with her. Her per-post rate averaged approximately $125,000, with top campaigns exceeding $500,000. By the time the The Money Game docuseries (produced by LSU alum Shaquille O’Neal and streaming on Amazon Prime) revealed her total NIL earnings, the number had reached $9.5 million, the highest of any female college athlete in history.
She was the only woman in the top five of On3’s NIL 100 rankings during multiple seasons.
Julz, it should be said, was the one making a significant portion of it work. As Julz explained in The Money Game: “If that girl has ever posted anything funny in her life, you know who came up with it because it wasn’t her.” Julz handled editing, captions, and content strategy while Livvy handled the camera and the gymnastics. When Livvy surprised her sister with a new car for her birthday, it registered as the least she could do.
In July 2023, Dunne founded The Livvy Fund, specifically to share what she had learned with other LSU female athletes. The fund helped connect them with brands and gave them access to the network she had built. It earned her a spot on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 and Top Creators lists. Caitlin Clark was building her own parallel NIL legacy in basketball at the same time. Different sports, same seismic shift in what college fame could be worth.
LSU, the 2024 Championship, and the Knee That Ended It
Dunne’s gymnastics at LSU was primarily on uneven bars and floor exercise, though injuries complicated several seasons. She dealt with torn labrums and a torn bicep in her 2022-2023 season. She returned, competed through, and in her 2023-2024 season helped lead LSU to its first-ever NCAA gymnastics national championship.
She kissed the trophy. The images went everywhere.
She came back for a fifth year, using a COVID-era eligibility extension, because she wanted to feel that again. “We won last year. It was so exciting for not only our team but the whole university,” she told the New York Post. “That’s a feeling that I want to feel again.”
In early March 2025, she fractured her kneecap. An avulsion fracture of the patella, which she described as unusually caused by overuse rather than a direct blow. She missed senior night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. She missed the postseason. LSU finished third in the semifinals without her. And Dunne, sitting courtside in a black and purple leotard for the last time as a Lady Tiger, watched it all.
Her farewell video, crafted with videographer Giovanni Lamonte, traced her career from a little girl in Hillsdale to the U.S. Junior National Team to five years at LSU. Fans described it as bringing them to tears.
Paul Skenes, the Ice Cream Date, and the “It” Couple of College Sports
Dunne met Paul Skenes at LSU in 2023 through mutual friends. Their first date was a simple ice cream outing, a detail that has since made the rounds, largely because Skenes reportedly does not actually like ice cream very much but went anyway. The relationship became public when Dunne wore his jersey during LSU’s College World Series run.
Skenes, a 6’6″ right-handed pitcher from Orange County, California, was selected #1 overall in the 2023 MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates, with a signing bonus of $9.2 million, the largest in MLB draft history. He went on to win NL Rookie of the Year in 2024. He was also an All-Star in his debut season.
Together, they have become one of the most photographed couples in American sports. Dunne is a fixture at PNC Park when Skenes pitches. They walked the 2024 MLB All-Star red carpet together and appeared on the cover of GQ. Her net worth at the time was arguably higher than his.
As of 2026, Skenes is in his second full MLB season and Dunne is filming in Los Angeles. The two manage the geography with the kind of deliberateness that two athletes with extremely public schedules have no choice but to develop.
Sports Illustrated, the Brand Machine, and What She Built
In May 2025, Dunne appeared on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, one of the year’s most searched image rollouts. She shared the issue with a cohort that included Suni Lee and Jordan Chiles, a generation of athlete-models who are redefining what an SI Swimsuit cover means in the post-NIL world.
The cover crystallized what had been true for two years: Dunne is no longer primarily a gymnast who has a social media following. She is a media personality with a gymnastics origin story. The distinction matters commercially. Her audience spans sports fans, fashion followers, lifestyle content consumers, and Gen Z women who track Alix Earle and Dunne with the same feed scroll, treating them as cultural peers. The crossover is real and deliberate.
Her current brand roster includes Vuori, American Eagle, BodyArmor, and Nautica, among others. She has stated publicly that her long-term goal is to launch her own product line. She has described learning from two years of brand partnerships how to assess deals and understand margins, setting up what sounds like a founder’s education delivered in NIL form.
From the Beam to the Beach: Baywatch
On March 12, 2026, Fox and Deadline announced jointly that Dunne had been cast in the Fox Baywatch reboot in the recurring role of Grace, a highly enthusiastic junior lifeguard. It marks her professional acting debut.
She had been taking acting lessons and working with a coach, reading scripts in her off time, and told Parade that she described her character as athletic and sweet. In an interview with People, she noted acting had been on her mind even during her LSU years, but gymnastics made everything else secondary. “Sports are your top priority when you’re a student-athlete at school,” she said. “And now that I’m done with school, I have more time to lean into the acting stuff and the creative side of things.”
The Baywatch reboot, scheduled to air on Fox during the 2026-2027 TV season, is a 12-episode order co-produced by Fremantle. Stephen Amell leads as Hobie Buchannon, with a cast including Shay Mitchell, Noah Beck, Brooks Nader, and Hassie Harrison. Dunne was photographed on set in Venice Beach, in the show’s signature red swimsuit, posting on Instagram with a caption that read: “I’m not a lifeguard, but I play one on tv.”
The Simone Biles generation of gymnasts opened doors for the sport’s visibility. Dunne walked through one of those doors and out the other side into a completely different building. Whether the acting translates is a question the 2026-2027 season will answer. What is already clear is that she has been building toward a second career with the same methodical approach she brought to NIL: learning, positioning, and executing.
What Livvy Dunne Is Worth
Dunne’s net worth is estimated at approximately $6 million as of 2026, a figure that reflects her post-graduation trajectory post-NIL earnings have converted into assets and brand equity. Her total NIL earnings across her college career reached $9.5 million according to figures revealed in The Money Game, though net worth reflects a different calculation that accounts for spending, taxes, and invested vs. liquid assets.
Her per-post rate of approximately $125,000, combined with the Baywatch deal and her continuing brand partnerships, means income continues flowing well past the gymnastics career that initially built her audience.
She is, by any measure, the financial success story of the NIL era among female college athletes. The rules changed in July 2021. She was prepared. Most weren’t.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Livvy Dunne?
Livvy Dunne was born on October 1, 2002, making her 23 years old as of 2026. She was born in Westwood, New Jersey, and grew up in Hillsdale, New Jersey.
Is Livvy Dunne still a gymnast?
No. Livvy Dunne officially retired from gymnastics on April 18, 2025, after her final season at LSU was cut short by an avulsion fracture in her kneecap. She competed with the LSU Tigers from 2021 to 2025 and helped the team win its first NCAA National Championship in 2024.
Who is Livvy Dunne dating?
Livvy Dunne is dating Paul Skenes, a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. The two met at LSU in 2023 through mutual friends. Their relationship became public when Dunne wore his jersey during LSU’s College World Series run.
What is Livvy Dunne’s net worth?
Livvy Dunne’s net worth is estimated at approximately $6 million as of 2026. She earned a total of $9.5 million in NIL deals during her college career at LSU, making her the highest-earning female college athlete in NCAA history. Her income sources include brand partnerships with American Eagle, Vuori, BodyArmor, Nautica, and others, plus her Fox Baywatch acting role.
What is Livvy Dunne’s role in Baywatch?
Livvy Dunne plays the recurring role of Grace, a highly enthusiastic junior lifeguard, in Fox’s Baywatch reboot. It is her professional acting debut. The show, starring Stephen Amell and Shay Mitchell, is scheduled to premiere on Fox during the 2026–2027 television season.
What is The Livvy Fund?
The Livvy Fund is a foundation Dunne launched in July 2023 to help female LSU student-athletes secure NIL brand deals and partnerships. It uses the network and brand relationships she built during her own college career to create opportunities for other women athletes. The fund contributed to her recognition on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list.