Kaylee Hottle, the deaf actress known for her role as Jia in the Godzilla franchise, has died at age 18 following a serious car accident in Maryland, her father Joshua Hottle confirmed in a Facebook livestream.
Father confirms death in livestream
In a 23-minute Facebook livestream, later verified by TMZ, Joshua Hottle communicated in American Sign Language that his daughter died after the crash. He stated that officials informed him of the accident, and he traveled to Maryland to retrieve her body. He added that her heart stopped on the way to the hospital.
Breakout role in Godzilla films
Hottle was best known for portraying Jia, a deaf teenager living on Skull Island with Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall), who communicates with King Kong through sign language. She first appeared in Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) and reprised the role in Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire (2024).
Discovered through commercial
Born in 2007, Hottle was scouted by casting director Sarah Halley Finn after appearing in a commercial for the video relay service app Convo. In a 2024 interview with Chron, Hottle said: 'I had a connection with Convo. They asked me to be in a commercial one day, and so I did that commercial. And then the assistant director of [Kong: Skull Island] saw me and they thought I matched the character description of Jia.'
Deaf heritage and education
Hottle came from four generations of deaf family members on her father's side. As of 2024, she was attending the Texas School for the Deaf.
