Kaylee Hottle, the young star of Godzilla vs. Kong, died at 18
The deaf actress revealed in the MonsterVerse died this Tuesday after a tragic car accident.
Cinema is losing a promising young talent.
Kaylee Hottle, revealed to the general public thanks to her role as Jia in Godzilla vs. Kong (in 2021) then in Godzilla x Kong: The New Kingdom (2024) died this Tuesday at the age of 18 after a car accident.
The disappearance of the actress was confirmed by her father, Joshua Hottle, who announced the news on social networks. He said his daughter died early Tuesday morning in Maryland. In a live video, he explained in American Sign Language (ASL) that he had traveled from Texas to repatriate his daughter’s body.
Authorities say Kaylee Hottle was in a 1995 Honda Accord when the driver lost control of the vehicle, left the road and crashed into a roadside ditch.
Her father also said that authorities told him that Kaylee Hottle suffered a cardiac arrest while being transported to the hospital after the accident.
Born into a deaf family, Kaylee Hottle began her career in 2017 in advertisements, notably in a spot for the Glide messaging application, used by the deaf community. A few years later, she landed her first film role in Godzilla vs. Kong (2021). She played Jia, a young girl who is hard of hearing, able to communicate with King Kong using sign language. A new character in the MonsterVerse, whose relationship with the famous giant gorilla constituted one of the major elements of the film.
She then reprized her role in Godzilla x Kong: The New Kingdomwhere Jia’s story is further developed. His performance even earned him a nomination at the Saturn Awards in the best performance by a young actor category.
His work was also praised by his partners Alexander Skarsgård and Rebecca Hall, who played his adoptive mother on screen. The two actors had learned American Sign Language in order to be able to communicate with her on set.
Outside of films Godzillathe young actress only had one other appearance to her credit, in the series Magnum PI in 2021. She was soon to appear in the film What Doesn’t Kill Us.
