00:00Kaley Hoddle, the young actress known for her role in the Godzilla vs. Kong franchise,
00:04has died after a tragic car accident. She was 18.
00:08Kaley's father, Joshua Hoddle, confirmed the heartbreaking news to TMZ after sharing
00:12an emotional livestream on Facebook. According to Joshua, the fatal car crash happened in
00:17Maryland. He explained in American Sign Language that he was in Texas when authorities called
00:22to notify him about the collision. He later received another call informing him that Kaley's
00:27heart had stopped while she was being transported to the hospital. Joshua said he was flying
00:31to Maryland to claim his daughter's body, referencing the trip in a 23-minute Facebook
00:36livestream captioned, I am taking a flight that I would never like to take. Following the news,
00:41social media users flooded the comments with messages of support, remembering Kaley as a
00:45brilliant and kind young woman. Born in Atlanta in 2007, Kaley was raised in Austin, Texas, where
00:51she attended the Texas School for the Deaf. She began acting at just nine years old, making her
00:56debut in a commercial for Glide, a video messaging app popular within the deaf and hard of hearing
01:01community. Her breakout role came in 2021, when she starred as Gia in Godzilla vs. Kong.
01:06Her character lived on Skull Island with Dr. Eileen Andrews, played by Rebecca Hall, and shared
01:12a unique bond with King Kong through American Sign Language. During the film's release, Hall
01:17and co-star Alexander Skarsgård revealed they learned ASL to communicate with Kaley on set.
01:22Skarsgård praised the young actress, calling her incredibly professional, and saying he was amazed
01:27by how naturally she performed in front of the camera, despite it being her first movie.
01:32Kaley also spoke about the importance of authentic representation, explaining through an interpreter
01:37that deaf actors should play deaf characters, because they understand both the language and the
01:41culture. She returned as Gia in 2024's Godzilla vs. The New Empire, and also appeared as June in a
01:48season 4 episode of Magnum P.I. Kaley Hoddle was just beginning what many believe would be
01:53a promising career, and her death marks a tragic loss for both the entertainment industry and
01:58the deaf community.
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