Washington DC [US], July 6 : Manager and close friend of Caitlyn Jenner, Sophia Hutchins, has died at the age of 29. She passed away on Wednesday in Malibu, California, after a tragic ATV accident, as confirmed by People magazine.
According to TMZ, Hutchins was riding an all-terrain vehicle when it collided with another moving vehicle. The crash threw her off the road, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Sophia became publicly known after she started working with Caitlyn Jenner soon after Jenner came out as a transgender woman in 2015. The two met through a shared hairstylist and formed a close bond. At the time, Hutchins had transitioned during college and had not yet graduated.
She later took on the role of Jenner's manager, handling her public appearances and other professional matters. Sophia was also the CEO and executive director of the Caitlyn Jenner Foundation, which focuses on transgender rights and support. She appeared in several episodes of the reality show I Am Cait, which followed Jenner's life after transitioning. The show aired for two seasons before ending in 2016.
In a 2018 interview with Variety, Hutchins spoke about her work with Jenner, saying, "Coming from a reality show, where every detail of your life is documented, to not seeking any press is kind of a big change. Caitlyn is not working on these [activist] issues for press attention. She's doing it because she genuinely wants to help the community."
While there were often rumors about a romantic relationship between Jenner and Hutchins, both always denied it.
"We are not going to get into that. But we are very close," Jenner told Variety at the time. "We're kind of inseparable. We're the best of friends."
Born on April 1, 1996, in Bellevue, Washington, Sophia Hutchins earned a degree in economics and finance from Pepperdine University in 2019. Along with her work in activism and management, she also founded the sunscreen brand Lumasol.