Olivia Dunne is fully embracing lifeguard mode ahead of her acting debut in Fox’s upcoming Baywatch reboot.
New photos from the set show Dunne posing atop a Venice Beach lifeguard tower wearing the franchise’s iconic red swimsuit, instantly triggering a wave of nostalgia for fans who grew up watching the original series dominate ’90s pop culture.
And honestly, the casting makes perfect sense.
Dunne already exists at the intersection of sports, celebrity, internet culture, and hyper-visible branding. Baywatch was basically built for that kind of crossover star power decades before social media even existed.
The former LSU gymnast will play Grace, an overly enthusiastic junior lifeguard in the new Fox series, which also stars Brooks Nader, Noah Beck, and Shay Mitchell.
Photos shared online this week on Page 6 captured Dunne smiling in the signature high-cut red suit while filming on the beach, leaning heavily into the instantly recognizable Baywatch aesthetic that turned the original show into a global phenomenon.
Naturally, internet speculation quickly followed. Rumors recently surfaced suggesting tension between Dunne and Brooks Nader, with social media gossip framing both women as competing to become “the next Pamela Anderson.”
Dunne, however, quickly shut the idea down.
When asked directly about the alleged feud, she reportedly laughed off the speculation and insisted the two are actually friends.
The reboot arrives during Hollywood’s ongoing obsession with reviving recognizable legacy properties, particularly franchises tied to peak ’80s and ’90s nostalgia. But unlike many reboots chasing pure nostalgia bait, Fox appears to be leaning heavily into modern influencer culture and internet-native celebrity casting.
That’s probably smart.
The original Baywatch wasn’t just a TV show. It was a cultural machine built on aspirational bodies, beach fantasy, celebrity spectacle, and global visibility. Social media culture basically inherited that DNA.
Dunne’s involvement also continues her rapid expansion beyond sports and NIL dominance into mainstream entertainment. Over the past few years, she has evolved from elite gymnast into one of the most commercially recognizable athletes in college sports history.
Now she’s running in slow motion on Venice Beach.
Honestly, the pipeline feels inevitable at this point.
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