Livvy Dunne spent her entire life chasing one dream. She dedicated 20 years to gymnastics. The former LSU gymnast officially retired from competitive gymnastics on April 21, 2025. Months later, she shared how difficult the transition process has been.

Dunne has been doing gymnastics for all her life, a passion that she took to LSU in 2020 and reached the top in 2024, leading her programme to the NCAA gold medal win at Fort Worth. After five years, Dunne entered Hollywood. With this, she went through a transition.

"I think the transition from being a D1 athlete, in any sport, to no longer doing your passion, I think that is a very hard transition," Dunne told USA Today reporter Meghan Hall back in June, 2025. "But for me, luckily, I had a lot of obligations outside of gymnastics."

Her social media presence, built through NIL deals and brand partnerships, had already earned her significant income, which made it easier for her to step away from gymnastics.

"So, in working with friends or being able to do these red carpets, runway shows, I think it’s kind of been a good transition for me, but it’s definitely weird not having that part of my life anymore," Dunne confessed. "I may not be doing gymnastics anymore, but gymnastics will never leave me-I will always be a gymnast at heart."

In April 2025, she retired from gymnastics after sustaining an avulsion fracture in her kneecap. Dunne has multiple academic honors, including WCGA Academic All-American and SEC Academic Honor Roll. She led LSU to its first NCAA gymnastics championship in 2024.

Having moved from gymnastics, she stepped into a new chapter.

Livvy Dunne's life after gymnastics

After Dunne announced her retirement from gymnastics, there were a lot of questions about the next chapter of her life. She later told the Associated Press that she wanted to do everything she wanted to do but couldn't because she was a student-athlete.

Acting was one thing that was at the top of her list. In March this year, Dunne announced that she landed a role in Fox's Baywatch. She is set to play Grace's character, a lifeguard, in the TV series. She auditioned for HBO's White Lotus and was faced with rejection.

"I take acting lessons — and I really love it,” Dunne told People during an interview in March. “It's something I've been passionate about for quite some time. I was interested in doing that at LSU."

Aside from acting, she has continued her modeling and philanthropy.

Do you think Dunne can have the same success in acting she had in gymnastics? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Nandjee Ranjan

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar