What Olivia Dunne Learned From Paige Spiranac During Her Rise to Fame

Olivia Dunne was photographed by Ben Watts in Puerto Rico.Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

If anyone’s familiar with a swift rise to fame, it’s Olivia Dunne. A junior on the LSU gymnastics team, the 20-year-old’s popularity quickly skyrocketed on TikTok during the COVID-19 pandemic. After the NCAA’s name, image and likeness (NIL) policy went into effect in July 2021, brand deals with companies like Vuori, American Eagle and PlantFuel soon followed.

Dunne, who capitalized on pursuing monetized opportunities while building her personal brand, is the highest-paid female college athlete in sports today. In addition to being a Division I athlete and influencer, Dunne can also add “SI Swimsuit model” to her impressive list of accolades, as she makes her debut in the magazine next month.

Known as “Livvy” by her adoring social media followers, the petite blond regularly provides her combined 11 million TikTok and Instagram fans with an inside look at her life as a college athlete. While she often films herself in the gym, shows off cute outfits of the day and performs dance routines with her teammates, Dunne doesn’t share quite everything online.  

“The biggest thing I’ve learned so far is that you need to make sure to keep certain parts of your life private,” says Dunne regarding her rapid ascent into the spotlight. “Some things you don’t want the whole world knowing, so [you have to] keep certain parts of your life private.”

It’s an important life lesson that Dunne says she learned from golf influencer Paige Spiranac, who herself was featured in the 2018 SI Swimsuit Issue.

“That’s something that [she] kind of helped me with … just keeping certain parts of your life private,” Dunne says. “Making sure not to post certain things that maybe you don’t want people’s feedback on.”

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Last November, The New York Times published an article implying that Dunne and other female athletes were using their sexuality to garner brand deals. Spiranac, 30, was quick to come to Dunne’s defense on Twitter.

“I’m so sick of women belittling accomplishments of other women because it’s done differently than they would,” Spiranac wrote at the time. “@livvydunne is getting hate for making 2 million a year. She’s built a successful business (at 20) all while being a student-athlete. That’s badass.”

Spiranac herself is no stranger to public commentary and harsh critiques. She used her platform during her SI Swimsuit photo shoot as an opportunity to speak out on the issue of cyberbullying, something she’s experienced firsthand.

Dunne says that Spiranac’s public support came at a pivotal time and meant a great deal to her, since she was having a difficult time dealing with the backlash of the Times piece.

“Paige is just so great at showing that you can be beautiful and athletic and successful at the same time, so it just really is awesome to have someone like her stand up for me and be on my side,” Dunne says.

When it comes to her online persona, Dunne says she truly values support from fellow women—particularly when their kindness cuts through the noise she often receives in her comments section.

“I really appreciate all the positive comments and feedback, especially from girls and people who reach out and tell me how much respect they have for gymnastics and the hard work I’ve put in so far,” she adds.

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In addition to Spiranac, there are several other women who Dunne says she admires, including three-time SI Swimsuit cover model Kate Upton, whom the New Jersey native calls “iconic.”

“I’m also a really big fan of when Aly Raisman did her photo shoots for SI Swimsuit [in 2017 and ’18] because she’s always been a role model of mine in the gymnastics world. And I just feel like she uses her spotlight to bring awareness to the survivors of the abuse in women’s sports,” Dunne adds.

While she appreciates the work women who have come before her have done to pave the way, Dunne is also doing her part to create a more equitable future for college athletes. She’s working on establishing an NIL fund to raise money for women’s sports and hopes to eventually act as a mentor to female athletes.

“I hope I can bring attention to how amazing college sports are and how hard college athletics are. People don’t see [behind the scenes] every day of my college athletics, and it’s very time-consuming,” Dunne says. “In gymnastics, a lot of people only watch the Olympics every four years, and I feel like I’ve been able to use my platform to bring an audience to college gymnastics, and people are starting to see how amazing all these gymnasts are.”

Meet Olivia Dunne—read the 2023 SI Swimsuit model’s full feature profile here.