Meet gymnast Olivia Dunne, who’s bigger on TikTok than Beyoncé: the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model is a social media sensation and has landed deals with American Eagle and Forever 21

Nov 14 , 2023

Livvy Dunne is a successful athlete and TikTok star, but her fame has also garnered some unwanted attention from male fans recently. Photo: @livvydunne/Instagram

Olivia Dunne is a TikTok-famous athlete – just like golfing sensation Paige Spiranac and the basketball-playing Cavinder twins, who also went viral on the social media platform

Dunne has more followers on TikTok than Beyoncé, recently met NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal, and is currently with the Louisiana State University gymnastics team

From golfing sensation Paige Spiranac to the basketball-playing Cavinder twins, TikTok has given rise to a new generation of young up-and-coming athletes who have gone viral for their playful approaches to sport.

Olivia Dunne began posting on her socials at a young age and now has more followers than any other college athlete. Photo: @livvydunne/Instagram

Such is the case with Olivia Dunne, the 21-year-old American college gymnastics star who shares slow motion videos of herself doing backflips and handsprings – and has acquired a colossal fan base from doing so.

Olivia Dunne won a full scholarship to Louisiana State University. Photo: @livvydunne/Instagram

That’s to her online popularity, she’s now earning huge sums for sponsored posts and meeting a string of high-profile celebs along the way. Just last week, she posed for a pic with NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal at Fred’s Bar near her Louisiana State University campus, per British media.

Here’s everything you need to know about the sporty social media sensation:

Olivia “Livvy” Dunne is a gymnast

Olivia Dunne began gymnastics at the age of three. Photo: @livvydunne/Instagram

Dunne started her gymnastics journey from an early age, and she began training when she was three, states People. She made her elite debut at 11, and not long after, joined the USA Gymnastics Junior National Team.

The New Jersey native joined LSU in 2021 on a full scholarship, according to the magazine. The same source reported that by March, she had become the highest-paid NCAA female athlete, making a staggering seven figures a year.

She’s built up a massive online fan base …

Olivia Dunne has more followers than Beyoncé on TikTok. Photo: @livvydunne/Instagram

Dunne has achieved incredible success in the digital realm too, attracting 4.4 million followers on Instagram and nearly eight million on TikTok. Yup, that’s millions more than Beyoncé on the latter platform. According to Glamour, that also makes her the country’s most followed college athlete.