Deaf actress Kaylee Hottle, best known for playing Jia in the hit MonsterVerse blockbusters Godzilla vs Kong and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, has tragically passed away following a severe car accident in Maryland. She was just 18 years old.
Kaylee Hottle's father, Joshua Hottle, confirmed the tragic news to media outlets on Tuesday, July 21, 2026. He also shared the heartbreaking update directly with supporters through an emotional, 23-minute livestream, communicating via American Sign Language (ASL).
Godzilla vs Kong Star Kaylee Hottle Dies Aged 18 After Car Accident
Joshua Hottle explained that he was in Texas when he received an urgent phone call from authorities regarding his daughter's vehicle collision in Maryland. Shortly after the initial notification, officials informed him that Kaylee's heart had stopped while she was being transported to the hospital.
The grieving father flew out immediately to claim her body, sharing a painful caption alongside his livestream, “I am taking a flight that I never would like to take.”
Who Is Kaylee Hottle?
Kaylee Hottle was born in 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia, into a multi-generational deaf family spanning four generations on her father’s side. She began her acting career at the age of nine, starring in commercials for apps like Glide and Convo, which serve the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities.
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Kaylee Hottle break into major Hollywood cinema came after casting director Sarah Halley Finn spotted her in a commercial and auditioned her for Godzilla vs. Kong (2021). Hottle won global acclaim for her portrayal of Jia, a young orphan girl who communicates with King Kong through sign language while living under the care of Dr. Ilene Andrews (played by Rebecca Hall).
She reprised her fan-favourite role in the 2024 sequel, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. Outside the franchise, she appeared in an episode of the Magnum P.I. reboot series.