The beauty queen daughter of billionaire Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt gave her followers an inside look into the very lavish perks that come with being an NFL heiress as she attended ‘Super Bowl week’ with her father – from invites to exclusive team parties and red carpet events to private planes, catered meals, and five-star resorts.
Gracie Hunt, 23, has become a viral social media star – racking up more than 239,000 followers – for often flaunting the glamorous perks that come with being related to the football mogul.
And now, she has shared a behind-the-scenes glimpse into what it’s really like to attend the Super Bowl as the daughter of the owner of one of the competing teams – and it certainly came with VIP treatment.
Taking to her Instagram Stories on Monday, the influencer shared a slew of videos from the Opening Night celebration, which involved members from the Chiefs and the opposing team – the Philadelphia Eagles – meeting for the first time ahead of their anticipated showdown this Sunday.
Gracie posted a clip of herself and her father walking together into the party, as she turned around and grinned excitedly towards the camera.
The 23-year-old had an up-close view of the players, sharing numerous videos of them answering questions from the media and mingling with one another.
Another video featured the enormous, delicious-looking spread that was provided for party goers, which included burgers, chicken fingers, French friends, and of course, a huge array of desserts like cookies and mini cakes.
Gracie also showed off the luxury accommodations, posting a video of herself from inside the hotel room before heading to bed.
‘It’s been the most amazing day,’ she gushed. ‘This experience has felt so surreal until now, but now it feels real.
‘Just getting to be with everyone… Oh my goodness, I’m feeling all the emotions. I’m so excited, I’m invigorated. Happy Super Bowl week.’
In a different video shared on Tuesday morning, she showcased the lobby of the hotel decked out in Chiefs decorations, including a big Super Bowl VII statue.
While Gracie had to leave Arizona to attend a photoshoot, she flew back to the state on Thursday evening – via private plane, of course – just in time to attend the NFL Honors event.
She headed to the star-studded event – an annual ceremony that celebrates the best of the best over the last NFL season – in a stunning, glittery red gown, which she accessorized with a sparkly Louis Vuitton purse.
She shared clips from on the red carpet and from inside the event, which was hosted by Kelly Clarkson.
Gracie also posted a snap of an enormous football made out of chocolate, which was sure to make her followers’ mouths water.
Her dad, Clark, is the owner, chairman, and CEO of the Kansas City Chiefs, while her grandfather, Lamar Hunt, was the founder of the American Football League (AFL) and Major League Soccer (MLS).
Aside from being a popular Instagram sensation and football enthusiast, Gracie has also launched a major career for herself as a pageant queen, and was crowned as Miss Kansas USA in 2021.
Most recently, she graced the cover of Maxim magazine’s March/April issue.
Born on March 29, 1999, in Dallas, Texas, the model previously recalled growing up in a very ‘sports focused’ family while chatting with Fox in 2021, which she said was ‘such a joy.’
‘I love sports because they bring people together and promote a culture of inclusivity and is truly what I see as the modern day American dream,’ she gushed in 2021.
‘Sports are about breaking barriers, and I want individuals, no matter your level of ability, to feel included and valued, and I think the Super Bowl would be the ultimate celebration of that.’
Although she is now a glamour queen, Gracie explained that her first passion was actually soccer. She dreamed of being a famous player and had plans to pursue the sport in college – however, she was forced to quit after suffering from numerous head injuries.
‘Soccer was my first love,’ she explained to People magazine in November 2021. ‘I wanted to play in college. I won the championship when I was in high school with my high school team, and played club, as well.
‘After suffering four concussions, that was a dream that I could no longer pursue, which is really hard when you work your entire life to be good at something. I had to find a new dream.’
She added to Maxim that her love of soccer helped strengthen her bond with her dad, who served as her ‘first coach when she was little.’
‘Soccer helped build my relationship with my dad. He was my first coach when I was little and those are sweet memories I’ll always cherish,’ she said.
She revealed to the New York Post that she then turned to pageantry – which was a ‘foreign industry’ to her, at the time – since her mother, Tavia Hunt, was a former beauty queen.
‘I was like, “OK, you’ve done this, I clearly have no idea what’s going on, but can you help me?”‘ she recalled asking her mom.
‘And she said, “I’m not sure because you walk like a soccer tomboy, but we can give it a shot,” and the rest is history.’
According to Gracie, her mom – who earned the Miss Kansas USA title in 1993 – often gives her important advice, with the star adding that it’s ‘really nice to walk down a road with someone who has been down that path before.’
‘She tells me, “Just be you. You are enough,”‘ she said to People. ‘It’s really nice to get to walk down a road with someone who has been down that path before. It really has just bonded us so much.’
But transitioning from athlete to beauty queen wasn’t easy for her. She told Maxim, ‘I went from walking like a tomboy in my soccer cleats to gliding in six-inch pageant stilettos.’
Pageantry and sports may seem completely different, but Gracie said she has since found numerous similarities between the two, explaining that while she can’t play soccer anymore, she is still ‘an athlete at heart.’
‘Pageantry is a sport, there’s so much that goes into it behind the scenes that you might not realize or know whether it’s interview prep, walking prep,’ she added.
‘Learning to walk on a stage in those heels is something that I did not realize the skill it took until I got myself into it, especially having come off of the soccer field, wearing cleats all the time.
‘I love starting my day off with a sweat. I still train really hard, I’m an athlete at heart and love to run, lift weights, cross-train. And from there, [it’s] all the works. It could be working with one of my coaches doing interview prep.’
According to her LinkedIn, Gracie graduated from the Southern Methodist University with a Bachelor’s degree in Sports Management in 2021, and she then enrolled at the University of Kansas for her Master’s, where she is studying Journalism.
On her Instagram, aside from showing off her luxurious life, she also often speaks out about health and fitness.
Her feed consists of snaps that show her soaking up the sun on the beach and enjoying exquisite getaways to places like Egypt, Isreal, and Mexico – but it is also filled with pictures of her working out or going for runs.
Her most recent passionate is marathons, and she is currently training to run in the 2023 Boston Marathon to raise money for charity.
Things haven’t always been easy for Gracie, who has suffered from celiac disease – a chronic digestive and immune disorder – her entire life, which is why she is extra passionate about taking care of her body.
‘I’ve known what it feels like to be really sick and to not know why,’ she shared with People.
‘ER sick, on morphine sick, super sensitive to gluten and my parents couldn’t figure it out.
‘The doctors couldn’t figure it out. That really inspired me to become as educated as I could and get my nutrition accreditation.’
Gracie is currently single – and on the hunt for her ‘number one draft pick.’
She told Maxim about what she looks for in a man: ‘My top three things are – does he align with me on a faith basis? Is he athletic? What does his work ethic look like? And if you’re funny with a great personality that’s hard to beat.’
She is also ardent about giving back, and has founded a nonprofit organization called Breaking Barriers – which ‘uses the power of sports to promote respect and inclusivity no matter your ability, race, or background,’ according to its Instagram bio.
In 2015, she became involved with the Special Olympics as a Unified partner player on the FC Dallas soccer team, and she now serves on both the SO Texas and SO Kansas boards.
She also works with the Kansas City Make-A-Wish Foundation and helps plan charity events with the Chief’s Women’s Organization.
‘One of the things that I love doing most is giving back. It’s what makes me the happiest,’ she told Maxim.
‘It’s important to constantly focus on other people. Even though there’s a lot of heartache in the world, there’s also a lot of goodness and increasingly that is what brings me joy.’
She has learned a lot from competing in the pageants, with her telling the Post, ‘My greatest takeaway from Miss USA is knowing I am enough. I want young girls to realize that they are enough, whether or not you walk away with a crown.’
She also learned a lot from her parents, with her adding to Maxim, ‘I’m very fortunate to have excellent role models in my life. Observing my parents’ tireless work ethics has made me want to make the most of each opportunity before me.’
In terms of what has kept her ‘grounded’ throughout the entire thing, she credits her ‘faith’ and strong relationship with her family.
‘Having a solid family that believes in me, that encourages me in what I want to pursue, and that gives it to me hard when they know that [I] need to improve in this area,’ she told HerCampus.com, when asked what has helped her through hard times.
‘They’re not going to be afraid to tell me that. I want people in my life who will sharpen me, as the iron sharpens iron.’
She added to Maxim: ‘I like to stay grounded by focusing less on myself and more on other people.
‘In the “selfie-focused” culture we live in, staying focused on what really matters can sometimes be difficult.
‘I’ve found happiness to be a product of circumstance and joy to be a daily decision. Walking through life joyfully each day is a decision you get to make every single morning when you wake up. I’m someone who is fueled by choosing joy and fostering gratitude.’
Now, she hopes to inspire other young women and teach them to value their bodies. She added to People: ‘No matter what size or shape you come in, you can be the healthiest you that you can be.
‘I want little girls to look up at me when I’m on that Miss USA stage and say, “Oh my gosh, she’s so strong, she’s healthy, she has muscles, and I want to be just like her.”
‘It’s not about being skinny or trying to conform to what the world tells you is beautiful. It’s about being the best you that you can be each and every day while pursuing health.’
As for what’s next for her, she is planning on launching her own fitness company in the future, which she told the Post she is ‘really excited about.’
‘I’ve also been asked to participate in two different reality TV shows,’ she revealed. ‘So you’ll have to stay tuned to see what I end up maybe going on.’
She also hinted to Maxim that she has her sights set on becoming the ‘first female NFL commissioner.’
‘From the time I was a baby toddling around, I was dressed in red and gold and grew up on those sidelines,’ she said.