Who was Kaylee Hottle? Deaf actress who played Jia in the Godzilla films dies at 18

Kaylee Hottle, the young deaf actress best known for portraying Jia in the MonsterVerse films Godzilla vs. Kong and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, has died at the age of 18 following a car accident in Maryland.

Her father, Joshua Hottle, told TMZ the crash occurred early Tuesday. He later shared the news during a livestream conducted in American Sign Language (ASL), saying he travelled from Texas to Maryland after being informed of the accident. Joshua said authorities later told him that Kaylee's heart stopped while she was being transported to a hospital.

Who was Kaylee Hottle?

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Kaylee Hottle grew up in a multi-generational deaf family and became one of the few young deaf performers to secure a prominent role in a major Hollywood blockbuster.

She first appeared in commercials, including a campaign for the video messaging platform Glide, a service widely used within the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. She was only nine years old when she began appearing on screen.

Her breakthrough came in 2021 when she was cast as Jia in Godzilla vs. Kong. The character, a deaf orphan living on Skull Island, communicates with King Kong through sign language and forms one of the emotional cores of the film.

Kaylee returned to the role in 2024's Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, further cementing her place in the MonsterVerse franchise.

A young career that left an impact

Although her acting career was brief, Kaylee Hottle earned recognition for increasing representation of deaf performers in mainstream Hollywood productions. Her portrayal of Jia resonated with audiences for bringing authentic sign language and deaf representation to one of cinema's biggest action franchises.