"Godzilla vs. Kong" Actress Kaylee Hottle Dies at 18
Kaylee Hottle, the deaf actress who won over audiences as Jia in the recent Godzilla vs. Kong films, has died at 18 following a car accident in Maryland.
Hottle's father, Joshua Hottle, confirmed her death in an emotional Facebook livestream delivered in American Sign Language. He said he was traveling from Texas to identify his daughter's body, telling viewers, "I am taking a flight that I would never like to take."
According to the Frederick County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded around 2:52 a.m. Tuesday to a single-vehicle crash on Windsor Road in Ijamsville, Maryland. A preliminary investigation found that a 1995 Honda Accord left the roadway and struck a culvert, with authorities saying excessive speed is believed to have contributed to the crash. Hottle, who was a passenger, was transported to a trauma center where she was later pronounced dead. The driver, a 19-year-old Frederick man, was hospitalized with injuries not considered life-threatening, and a second passenger declined treatment at the scene. The crash remains under investigation.
A Breakout Role in the Godzilla Franchise
Hottle, born in Atlanta on May 1, 2007, came from a multigenerational deaf family and began her acting career appearing in commercials supporting the deaf community, including a campaign for the video interpreting service Convo.
Her breakout role came in 2021's Godzilla vs. Kong, in which she played Jia, a deaf orphan from Skull Island who forms a close bond with Kong and communicates with him through sign language. She reprised the role in 2024's Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, a performance that earned her a Saturn Award nomination for best performance by a younger actor.
Hottle was a senior at the Texas School for the Deaf, which confirmed her death in a statement on social media. "It is with profound sadness that we share the heartbreaking news that one of our TSD seniors, Kaylee Hottle, tragically passed away yesterday in a car accident in Frederick, Maryland," the school wrote. "Our hearts are with Kaylee's family, friends, classmates and everyone who knew and loved her during this incredibly difficult time."
The school asked the public to respect the family's privacy. "At this time, we have very limited information and ask that everyone respect the privacy of Kaylee's family and refrain from sharing or speculating about the circumstances surrounding the accident," the statement continued.
Hottle's convention representative, Japan Legends Agency, told reporters it could not speak on behalf of the family and pointed to her father's statements as the primary source of information.
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