22/07/2026
Kaylee Hottle, 'Godzilla vs. Kong' Actress, Dies at 18 in Car Accident
Kaylee Hottle, the deaf actress known for portraying Jia in two "Godzilla" films, has died at age 18.
Her father, Joshua Hottle, told TMZ that Kaylee was killed in a car accident early Tuesday morning in Maryland. He shared the news himself in a nearly 23-minute livestream, using American Sign Language to explain that he had to fly from Texas to claim her body.
According to Joshua, he was first told his daughter had been in a serious crash, and shortly after received a follow-up call informing him her heart had stopped on the way to the hospital. The Frederick County Sheriff's Office confirmed Hottle was one of two passengers in a single-vehicle crash; the driver, a 19-year-old man, survived with non-life-threatening injuries.
Hottle, born in Atlanta, came from a multi-generational deaf family. She got her start in commercials â including a PSA as a child for an ASL-focused messaging app â before landing her breakout role as Jia in 2021's "Godzilla vs. Kong," a girl who communicates with Kong through sign language and lives under the care of Rebecca Hall's character on Skull Island. She reprised the role in 2024's "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" and also appeared in an episode of the "Magnum P.I." reboot.
At the time of her death, she was a senior at the Texas School for the Deaf, which called her passing a "tremendous loss."
REST IN PEACE.
