Kaylee Hottle, the young actress best known for her role as Jia in the MonsterVerse films “Godzilla vs. Kong” and “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” has died. She was 18. Her father, Joshua Hottle, confirmed her passing, revealing she was killed in a car accident in Maryland early Tuesday morning. In an emotional live stream conducted in American Sign Language, Joshua said he had to fly from Texas to claim her body. He said officials informed him her heart stopped on the way to the hospital.
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Hottle came from a multigenerational deaf family, with four generations of deaf relatives on her father’s side. Her native fluency in ASL helped her land commercials starting at age 9, including a Glide PSA and a Mother’s Day spot for Convo Relay. She landed her breakthrough role in 2021’s “Godzilla vs. Kong” as Jia, a deaf Iwi teenager who communicates with King Kong through sign language and shares a deep bond with the titan. She reprised the role in 2024’s “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire”.
Hottle also appeared in a season 4 episode of the “Magnum P.I.” reboot, playing a character named Joon. She was just 18 years old.
