Kaylee Hottle, the young actress who starred in two “Godzilla” films and helped bring Deaf representation to one of Hollywood’s biggest monster franchises, has died at 18.
Hottle was killed in a car crash Tuesday morning in Maryland, her father, Joshua Hottle, confirmed to TMZ.
The Deaf actress was best known for playing Jia in the 2021 film “Godzilla vs. Kong” and its 2024 sequel, “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.”
Before her breakout role, Hottle appeared in commercials for products used by the Deaf and hard of hearing community.
Her father shared the devastating news with followers in a livestream titled “I am taking a flight that I never would like to take.”
Speaking in American Sign Language, he described having to travel from Texas to Maryland to claim his daughter’s body.
According to TMZ, Joshua said he received a call from officials telling him Kaylee’s heart had stopped on the way to the hospital not long after he learned about the crash.
Hottle played a young girl who could communicate with Kong through sign language, a role that made her stand out in a blockbuster franchise often dominated by explosions, monsters and special effects.
She also helped translate the script for “Godzilla vs. Kong” into American Sign Language, a process she once said came with challenges because ASL does not always match English word for word.
‘I was fine with memorizing the script and signing my lines, but the tough part was signing out the “spoken” parts because we had to change it, and sometimes they’d tell us it was wrong but they didn’t understand that ASL changes almost everything,’ she said during a 2021 interview with The Daily Moth.
‘Because the interpreter said what I said. The producer and director would sometimes say “Don’t say that” and want me to follow the script, but the signs for that sentence would be different in ASL.
Kaylee Hottle has sadly passed away at the age of 18 after a fatal car crash.
She was known for playing Jia in the ‘Godzilla x Kong’ films. pic.twitter.com/1guVLFtF2c
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) July 21, 2026
‘There was one instance where there was a misunderstanding between us related to the ASL translation, which caused a delay, but they later understood.’
Hottle also taught her castmates how to sign, helping bring authenticity to scenes built around communication instead of just dialogue.
‘Teaching the cast how to sign. They had never interacted with a deaf person before. I had to explain how to sign and use facial expressions. That was the hard part, but when they picked up on it, it was fine. I didn’t really have challenges, they were very accommodating. Some of the workers learned how to sign.’
Hottle said Jia’s bond with Kong was what made the character special.
‘Because Kong and my character had a special bond. We signed with each other. Not with Godzilla, it was different. Then later we met,’ she said.
Alexander Skarsgård, who starred alongside Hottle in “Godzilla vs. Kong,” previously praised her natural screen presence and said she “steals the movie.”
Skarsgård also learned American Sign Language for the role.
Kaylee Hottle
‘It’s her first movie,’ he told Junkee in 2021. ‘It’s fascinating how comfortable she is in front of the camera and how quickly she takes notes from the director Adam [Wingard].
‘He’ll explain something and she’ll be like ‘got it, got it’ then she’ll just do it and everyone’s like ‘the f— … how did she?’ She’s so professional and just incredibly … there’s so much going on on her face, her expression and the subtleties of that is fascinating to watch.’
In addition to her work in the “Godzilla” franchise, Hottle appeared in an episode of “Magnum P.I.”
She also did a public service announcement for the video chat messenger Glide and a commercial for Convo Relay.
Hottle was also featured in “10 Deaf Children: One Powerful Message.”
Her death stunned fans who watched her step into a massive franchise as a child and hold her own alongside veteran actors and towering CGI creatures.
At just 18, she had already become a meaningful face for Deaf young people who rarely see themselves at the center of a Hollywood blockbuster.
Now, a promising life and career are gone far too soon.
