Kaylee Hottle, ‘Godzilla vs. Kong' star dies at 18 in car accident: Here's what happened

Kaylee Hottle, the young deaf actress who was recognised for her role as Jia in “Godzilla vs. Kong” and “Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire”, tragically passed away at the age of 18 in a car accident in Maryland.

The news of her demise was confirmed by her father, Joshua Hottle, through an emotional 23-minute Facebook livestream, communicated in American Sign Language.

He explained that he was travelling from Texas to Maryland to pick up the body of his daughter, whose heart had stopped while she was being transported to the hospital after an early morning accident.

Hottle, born on May 1, 2007, in Atlanta, had a long history of deafness within her family. At the time of her death, she was a senior at the Texas School for the Deaf in Austin. The school was saddened by her death and expressed this feeling through their Facebook page.

She made her debut in the film industry at just 9 years old in 2021’s “Godzilla vs. Kong”, where she played the role of a deaf native of Skull Island who communicated with the titular Titan through sign language. She reprised the same role in 2024’s “Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire”, performing alongside Rebecca Hall and Alexander Skarsgard.

Hottle also appeared in an episode of CBS’ Magnum P.I. reboot in 2021.