Olivia Paige "Livvy" Dunne (born October 1, 2002) is an American artistic gymnast and

social media personality An Internet celebrity (also known as a social media influencer, social media personality, internet personality, or simply influencer) is a celebrity who has acquired or developed their fame and notability through the Internet. The rise of social ...

. A former USA national team member and a current member of the LSU Tigers women's gymnastics team, she is the highest-valued women's college athlete as of 2022. Dunne's social media following of over 10 million has resulted in endorsement deals for her name, image, and likeness totaling seven figures.

Early life

Dunne was born in

Westwood, New Jersey Westwood (known as "The Hub of the Pascack Valley") is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 10,908,Hillsdale, New Jersey Hillsdale is a borough in the New York City metropolitan area in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 10,219,Paramus, New Jersey Paramus ( Waggoner, Walter H ''The New York Times'', February 16, 1966. Accessed October 16, 2018. "Paramus – pronounced puh-RAHM-us, with the accent on the second syllable – may have taken its name from 'perremus' or 'perymus,' Indian for ...

. By the time she was 14 years old, Dunne was homeschooled by her mother while she spent her days training with her coach Craig Zappa at ENA Gymnastics. Though she did not attend her public high school, she managed the high school gymnastics team at

Pascack Valley High School Pascack Valley High School (PVHS) is a four-year comprehensive regional public high school located in Hillsdale in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as one of two secondary schools in th ...

with her older sister. Hillsdale_House_NJ

Gymnastics career

Junior

2014–15

Dunne made her elite debut at the 2014 American Classic where she finished 28th in the all-around. She next competed at the

U.S. Classic The U.S. Classic is an annual summer gymnastics meet for elite artistic gymnasts of the United States. The meet occurs before Nationals and is a qualifier for it. In Olympic years, the aforementioned meets along with the U.S. Olympic Trials are u ...

where she placed 33rd in the all-around. In 2015 Dunne re-qualified for elite status at the WOGA Classic, where she earned a qualifying score of 52.750 and placed fifth. She next competed at the American Classic where she placed eighth and qualified to compete at the 2015 National Championships. Dunne competed at the

where she placed 24th in the all-around. Dunne made her National Championships debut in 2015 where she placed 25th in the all-around.

2016

Dunne competed at the 2016 American Classic where she finished 27th in the all-around. She next competed at the 2016 U.S. Classic where she finished 24th. Dunne concluded the season competing at the 2016 National Championships where she finished 12th in the all-around. She also placed eighth on balance beam and sixth on floor exercise.

2017

In March, Dunne was selected for the team to compete at the 2017 City of Jesolo Trophy; as a result she was added to the

National Team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

for the first time. She made her international debut there and placed sixth in the all-around. Dunne competed at the 2017 U.S. Classic in July where she finished fifth in the all-around. At the 2017 National Championships Dunne finished ninth in the all-around.

Senior

2018–20

Dunne turned senior in 2018. Although the United States did not send a team, Dunne represented her club at the

2018 City of Jesolo Trophy The 2018 City of Jesolo Trophy was the 11th annual ''Trofeo di Jesolo'' gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. T ...

. She finished 15th in the all-around. She competed at the

2018 U.S. Classic The 2018 U.S. Classic, known as the 2018 GK U.S. Classic for sponsorship reasons, is the 35th edition of the U.S. Classic gymnastics tournament. The competition was held on July 28, 2018, at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio. Medalist ...

only on uneven bars due to an ankle injury. Dunne qualified to compete at the

National Championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

via petition. She ended up placing 18th in the all-around. Dunne did not compete during the 2019 season in order to rest her injuries. In November Dunne officially signed her National Letter of Intent with

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

, starting in the 2020–21 season. Dunne qualified to the 2020 Nastia Liukin Cup after dropping down to Level 10. She ended up placing 11th.

NCAA

Dunne joined the LSU Tigers gymnastics team in 2020.

2020–21 season

Dunne competed on the uneven bars in every regular-season meet. She made her NCAA debut in a meet against Arkansas, scoring 9.875. She entered the postseason with an NQS of 9.9 on bars. At the SEC Championships she contributed an uneven bars score of 9.9 to LSU's second-place team finish. At the

NCAA Championships The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

semi-finals she again scored 9.9 on bars; LSU did not advance to the finals.

2021–22 season

Dunne again competed on the uneven bars in every regular-season meet and also competed five times on the floor exercise. She matched her career-high of 9.925 on the uneven bars during the opening meet against Centenary. She earned a score of 9.800 in her collegiate debut on floor on January 28. At the SEC Championships she contributed an uneven bars score of 9.875, but LSU was forced to count a fall on that event and finished in fifth place overall. At the NCAA regional semifinals she contributed scores of 9.85 on uneven bars and 9.9 on floor exercise. LSU suffered two uncharacteristic falls on balance beam and as a result was eliminated from the postseason during the first round of regionals, failing to qualify to the national championship as a team for the first time since 2011.

2022-2023 season

As of February 11, 2023, Dunne has yet to compete in the 2023 season due to various injuries including two torn labrums, a torn bicep, and a stress reaction in her leg.

Social media fame

Dunne joined the social media platform

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in 2020. Initially she posted videos of her gymnastics but later started posting videos of other areas of her life as well. As of February 2023, Dunne is the most-followed NCAA athlete on social media with more than 7 million followers on TikTok and 3 million on Instagram. On July 2, 2021, the NCAA changed its rule to allow its athletes to earn money from their name, image, and likeness. Dunne was projected to earn more compensation than any other collegiate athlete due to her large social media platform, which was a combined five million followers across both Instagram and TikTok at the time the rule change took effect. In August, Dunne announced that she signed with WME Sports, becoming their first NIL athlete. A month later, she announced her first exclusive brand partnership with

activewear Sportswear or activewear is clothing, including footwear, worn for sport or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons. Typical sport-specific garments ...

brand Vuori. Dunne is currently the highest-valued women's college athlete with an estimated NIL valuation of $3.3 million. In February 2023, she reported to

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 ...

that her endorsement deals total seven figures. On January 6, 2023, a large group of fans, mostly teenage boys, showed up to LSU's opening meet of the season at

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

to support Dunne. Some of these fans were reportedly harassing members of both gymnastics teams as well as journalists both during and after the meet. As a result of this, LSU hired additional security staff for the team and implemented increased safety measures including disallowing LSU gymnasts to go into the stands after a meet. Following the incident, Dunne posted a statement to

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requesting that her fans be more respectful.

Competitive history

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunne, Olivia 2002 births American female artistic gymnasts Living people LSU Tigers women's gymnasts People from Hillsdale, New Jersey Sportspeople from Bergen County, New Jersey U.S. women's national team gymnasts American TikTokers Social media influencers