Kaylee Hottle, deaf 'Godzilla' actor, killed in car crash at 18

Before her tragic death at the age of 18, Kaylee Hottle had already made a lasting impact in Hollywood and the Deaf community. Born in 2007 and raised in Austin, Texas, Kaylee came from a multi-generational Deaf family and was fluent in American Sign Language (ASL). She first appeared in commercials promoting Deaf awareness before landing her breakthrough role as Jia in Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), where she portrayed a Deaf orphan who communicates with Kong through sign language.

Kaylee reprised the role in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024) and earned praise for helping bring authentic Deaf representation to the big screen. She also appeared in an episode of Magnum P.I. and had completed work on the upcoming film What Doesn't Kill Us. Friends, co-stars and members of the Deaf community remembered her as a kind, talented young actress whose career was only just beginning before she was tragically killed in a car crash in Maryland on July 21, 2026.