Actress Kaylee Hottle, known for her role as Jia in "Godzilla vs. Kong" and "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire," has died at the age of 18. Her death occurred on Tuesday following a single-vehicle car crash in Frederick, Maryland.
Hottle was a passenger in a 1995 Honda Accord when the vehicle reportedly veered off the road and into a ditch. Speed was cited as a factor in the accident, according to TMZ. The driver of the vehicle, who is 19, sustained non-life-threatening injuries, and another passenger was treated at the scene.
Hottle's father, Joshua Hottle, confirmed his daughter's passing. He shared the news in a Facebook livestream, describing the difficult journey he had to make to claim her body. Joshua Hottle, who is also deaf, indicated that his daughter's heart had stopped en route to the hospital.
The Texas School for the Deaf, where Hottle was a senior, also announced her death on Facebook, expressing profound sadness and offering condolences to her family and friends. The school noted the significant impact of her loss on the community and made counseling services available.
In the "Godzilla" films, Hottle portrayed Jia, a young deaf girl who communicated with King Kong using American Sign Language (ASL). She previously spoke about the unique challenges and rewards of her role, including the process of translating spoken dialogue into ASL for the films and teaching sign language to her co-stars.
"Because Kong and my character had a special bond. We signed with each other," Hottle told The Daily Moth in 2021. She explained that while memorizing her signed lines was manageable, adapting spoken dialogue into ASL, which has different grammatical structures, sometimes led to misunderstandings on set.
Actor Alexander Skarsgård, who starred alongside Hottle, praised her performance in a 2021 interview with Junkee, calling her "the star of the film." He highlighted her comfort on camera and her ability to take direction, noting her professionalism and expressiveness. Skarsgård also learned ASL to communicate with Hottle off-camera.
Hottle's other acting credits include an appearance on "Magnum P.I." She also participated in commercials and public service announcements for organizations supporting deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals. Outside of acting, she was an athlete on her school's track and field team.
Harrowing photos have since emerged showing the significant damage to the front of the Honda Accord involved in the crash.