Amazing Gracie

With a mind-blowing blend of beauty and philanthropy, Gracie Hunt is a woman with the means to make a difference

- By Jordan Riefe

Heiress to both oil and football dynasties and a beauty pageant winner to boot, Gracie Hunt's the girl who has it all. So what does she do? She gives it back. And she has even greater aspirations of her own.

When she's not running marathons, Gracie, whose great-grandfather was famed oil tycoon H.L. Hunt, serves as a Special Olympics Ambassador and has served on the board of Special Olympics Texas and presently with Special Olympics Kansas.

She also works with New Friends New Life, which provides services and assistance for those victimized by human trafficking. Plus her seat on the board of Echelon, a body of young professionals in service to the Salvation Army, helping to alleviate poverty and hopelessness wherever it's found. Not to mention, all the other volunteering she does including founding her own nonprofit, Breaking Barriers Through Sports.

"One of the things that I love doing most is giving back. It's what makes me the happiest. Whether it's painting a house for Habitat for Humanity or on the field for Special Olympics, it's important to constantly focus on other people," she tells us. "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."