Hélio Gracie (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈɛʎu ˈɡɾejsi]; October 1, 1913 – January 29, 2009) was a Brazilian martial artist who, together with his brother Carlos Gracie, founded the martial art of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, known internationally as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). According to Rorion Gracie, his father Helio Gracie is one of the first sports heroes in Brazilian history; he was named Black Belt magazine's Man of the Year in 1997 by an American martial arts publication. He was the father of Rickson Gracie, Royler Gracie, Royce Gracie, Relson Gracie, and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Co-founder Rorion Gracie, among other sons and daughters. According to one of his most notable opponents, Masahiko Kimura, Gracie held the rank of 6th dan in judo.

Gracie was born on October 1, 1913, in Belém do Pará, Brazil. When he was 16 years old, he found the opportunity to teach a jujutsu class (at that time judo was commonly referred to as Kano Jiu-Jitsu or simply Jiu-Jitsu), and this experience led him to develop Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. A director of the Bank of Brazil, Mario Brandt, arrived for a private class at the original Gracie Academy in Rio de Janeiro, as scheduled. The instructor, Carlos Gracie, was running late and was not present. Helio offered to begin the class with the man. When the tardy Carlos arrived offering his apologies, the student assured him it was no problem, and actually requested that he be allowed to continue learning with Helio Gracie instead.^{[citation needed]} Carlos agreed to this and Helio Gracie became an instructor.

The Gracie family (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈɡɾejsi]) is a prominent sporting family from Brazil known for their founding of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). They have been successful in combat sport competitions including mixed martial arts, vale tudo and submission wrestling events. As a family, they uphold the Gracie challenge, which promotes their style of BJJ.

The Gracie family line in Brazil descended from George Gracie, a Scotsman from the Carronhill estate in Dumfriesshire who immigrated in 1826 when he was 25 years old. George was a son of James (b. 1772), the second son of family patriarch George Gracie (b. 1734), and Jean Patterson.

Gastão Gracie from Rio de Janeiro, the grandson of George Gracie through his son Pedro married Cesarina Pessoa Vasconcellos, the daughter of a wealthy Ceará family, in 1901 and decided to settle in Belém do Pará. Gastão Gracie became a business partner of the American Circus in Belém. In 1916, Italian Argentine circus Queirolo Brothers staged shows there and presented Mitsuyo Maeda, a Japanese Judoka and prize fighter. In 1917, Carlos Gracie, the eldest son of Gastão Gracie, watched a demonstration by Maeda at the Da Paz Theatre and decided to learn judo. Maeda accepted to teach Carlos. In 1921, following his financial dire straits and his father Pedro's demise serving as a pretext, Gastão Gracie returned to his native Rio with his family.