Kaylee Hottle, the deaf actress who played Jia in Godzilla vs. Kong, died Tuesday after a car crash in Frederick County, Maryland, her father said. She was 19.
TL;DR
- Hottle, known for playing Jia in Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024), died July 21 in a single-vehicle crash.
- Her father, Joshua Hottle, said her heart stopped on the way to the hospital.
- She was a senior at the Texas School for the Deaf and came from a four-generation deaf family.
- Co-stars Millie Bobby Brown and Rebecca Hall have paid tribute.
Who was Kaylee Hottle?
Born in Atlanta on May 1, 2007, Hottle got her start in commercials and advocacy campaigns for the deaf community before landing the role of Jia, a deaf orphan adopted by Dr. Ilene Andrews, in 2021's Godzilla vs. Kong.
She reprised the role in 2024's Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and was nominated for a 2025 Saturn Award for best performance by a younger actor, according to Deadline. She lost to Jenna Ortega.
How the crash happened
According to the Frederick County Sheriff's Office, the single-vehicle crash happened around 2:52 a.m. Tuesday in Ijamsville, Maryland. A 1995 Honda Accord left the road and struck a culvert, and investigators believe speed was a contributing factor.
The 19-year-old driver was hospitalized with injuries not believed to be life-threatening, the sheriff's office said.
Her father's account
Joshua Hottle, who is also deaf, described the crash in a nearly 23-minute Facebook livestream using American Sign Language, according to Fox News and TMZ. He said he was told his daughter's heart stopped on the way to the hospital, and that he was flying from Texas to Maryland to claim her body.
"I am taking a flight that I never would like to take," he wrote in the video's caption, according to Yahoo Entertainment.
School and co-stars react
The Texas School for the Deaf, where Hottle was a senior, confirmed her death in a statement shared on social media, according to Variety. The school said it was sharing the news with "profound sadness" and asked the public to respect the family's privacy.
Millie Bobby Brown, who played Madison Russell opposite Hottle, posted an Instagram tribute featuring a photo from the film. Rebecca Hall, who played Dr. Andrews, shared behind-the-scenes photos and wrote that she was devastated, per Yahoo Entertainment.
UK release and rating
Godzilla vs. Kong is rated 12A by the British Board of Film Classification for fantasy violence, and its 2024 sequel carries the same 12A certificate for scenes of monster combat and mild language.
19 — Kaylee Hottle's age at the time of her death
Source: Yahoo Entertainment
What happens next
No further details on funeral or memorial arrangements have been made public. Screen & Story will update this story as more information becomes available.
Reported from publicly available interviews and verified press sources. Last reviewed July 22, 2026.
