‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ Star Kaylee Hottle Dies at 18
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- Kaylee Hottle died Monday at age 18 in a car accident in Frederick, Maryland, according to The New York Times.
- Joshua Hottle, her father, announced her death in a Facebook livestream delivered in American Sign Language, saying he was flying from Texas to Maryland to claim her body.
- Texas School for the Deaf, where Hottle was a senior, confirmed the death in a social media statement and asked the public to refrain from sharing or speculating about the crash's circumstances.
- Hottle played Jia, a deaf orphan who communicates with Kong through ASL signing and is taken in by Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall), in 2021's 'Godzilla vs. Kong' and 2024's 'Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.'
- Her turn in 'The New Empire' earned a Saturn Award nomination for best performance by a younger actor — a rare franchise showcase for a deaf lead character.
- Born May 1, 2007 in Atlanta, Hottle came from a multi-generational deaf family and began her career in commercials promoting support for the deaf community, including the video interpreting service Convo.
- Beyond acting, Hottle was an athlete who competed on Texas School for the Deaf's track-and-field team and also appeared in a 2021 episode of 'Magnum P.I.'
Why it matters: The deaf community loses one of its most visible young Hollywood representatives: Hottle came from a multi-generational deaf family, signed with Kong on screen across two major blockbusters, and earned a Saturn Award nomination for 'The New Empire' — a rare mainstream platform for ASL and deaf-led storytelling.
