Godzilla x Kong actor Kaylee Hottle dies in car accident at 18

Kaylee Hottle, who played Jia in the Godzilla films, has died at 18 after a car accident in Maryland. Her father confirmed the news on Facebook.

In Short

• Her father shared the news in American Sign Language on Facebook
• Texas School for the Deaf said she was a senior there
• The school urged people to respect the family's privacy during mourning

Kaylee Hottle, the deaf actor best known for playing Jia in Godzilla vs Kong and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, has died at the age of 18. Her father, Joshua Hottle, announced the news in a Facebook livestream in American Sign Language and later confirmed to TMZ that she died in a car accident in Frederick, Maryland.

The Texas School for the Deaf, where Hottle was a senior, also confirmed her death in a statement shared on social media. Hottle and her father were both deaf and belonged to a multi-generational deaf family.

"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 said.

It added, "Our hearts are with Kaylee's family, friends, classmates, and everyone who knew and loved her during this incredibly difficult time. 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."

Hottle made her acting debut as Jia in 2021's Godzilla vs Kong. Her character, a deaf orphan who shares a unique bond with Kong, became one of the emotional anchors of the film. She reprised the role in 2024's Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, earning a Saturn Award nomination for Best Performance by a Younger Actor.

Speaking to The Daily Moth in 2021, Hottle reflected on the challenges of performing in American Sign Language (ASL), explaining that translating dialogue while staying true to the script was often complex.

"I was fine with memorising 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. 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," she said.

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