Livvy Dunne Trades the Gymnastics Floor for the Baywatch Lifeguard Stand in Her Fox Acting Debut
Few transitions in recent pop culture have felt as perfectly engineered as the one Livvy Dunne is currently pulling off. The former LSU gymnast, sports media sensation, and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover star has spent years building one of the most followed social media presences in college sports history, and now she is taking that momentum somewhere new entirely. With over 15 million followers across platforms, Dunne has been carving out a post-gymnastics identity ever since an avulsion fracture in her kneecap brought her athletic career at Louisiana State University to an end in April 2025.
The leap from the gymnastics floor to a television set is rarely a smooth one, but Dunne has been deliberate about the shift. She told People that acting had been on her mind for some time, even while competing. “I was interested in doing that at LSU, but sports are your top priority when you’re a student-athlete at school,” she explained, adding that finishing school gave her the freedom to explore the creative side of things.
She followed through by working with an acting coach and, as she described it to People, genuinely falling in love with the process.
That preparation has now led her straight onto one of Fox’s most anticipated revivals. Dunne has been cast in the recurring role of Grace, a highly enthusiastic junior lifeguard, in the network’s reboot of ‘Baywatch,’ marking her professional acting debut. Paparazzi shots and on-set photos circulating online show her fully suited up in the franchise’s signature red one-piece, blonde hair in beachy waves, stepping out of a Los Angeles County Lifeguard truck on the sand, looking every bit the part.
Speaking to Parade, Dunne described her character as athletic and sweet, noting that Grace is not too far removed from who she actually is, which made the role feel like a comfortable first acting experience. She also admitted that the sheer amount of time it takes to film a single scene caught her off guard. In a conversation with OK! Magazine, she summed up the whole experience simply: “It’s been a blast. I love it. It’s definitely a pinch-me moment.”
The ‘Baywatch’ reboot centers on Stephen Amell as Captain Hobie Buchannon, son of the legendary Mitch Buchannon, whose world is upended when his daughter Charlie, played by Jessica Belkin, arrives hoping to carry on the family legacy. The wider cast includes Shay Mitchell, Noah Beck, Hassie Harrison, Brooks Nader, and original series stars David Chokachi and Erika Eleniak returning to the fold.
Fox first announced the reimagined series in September 2025, with the show co-produced by Fremantle and Fox Entertainment. The original ‘Baywatch’ ran for 11 seasons and was recognized at its peak by Guinness World Records as the most-watched television series in the world. That legacy is a lot to live up to, but the combination of social media firepower, returning faces, and fresh storylines suggests Fox is swinging for something that resonates well beyond nostalgia.
The 12-episode series is set to debut in late January 2027, with the network eyeing a strong midseason launch. The first teaser, shared by Amell on Instagram with the caption “I dream in slow motion,” already promises the slow-motion runs and red swimsuits that defined the original. Whether Dunne can anchor her corner of that legacy with genuine screen presence is the question fans will be watching closely when ‘Baywatch’ finally hits the shore.
