Before her death on July 21, Kaylee Hottle had already built a promising Hollywood career after her breakout role as Jia in Godzilla vs. Kong, bringing deaf representation to one of the world’s biggest film franchises before she died at 18 in a Maryland car crash.
Before the world learned that Kaylee Hottle had died, her father, Joshua Hottle, shared a heartbreaking message from an airport as he prepared for a journey no parent should ever have to make.
“I am taking a flight that I never would like to take,” he wrote alongside a video shared on Facebook where he’s seen in the airport.
“Kaylee’s mom and four siblings are crushed,” he signed in the emotional July 21 post. “They are together at home, grieving. I am on my way to Maryland to bring Kaylee’s body back home.”
Shortly before, the heartbroken dad confirmed to TMZ that his teenage daughter was involved in a serious car accident that same morning. He said she died while being airlifted to a hospital after suffering cardiac arrest before arriving for treatment.
And, despite the family being destroyed, Joshua also reached out to the 19-year-old driver involved in the crash, the Associated Press (AP) reports.
“I have forgiven you,” he said. “Don’t let this incident ruin the rest of your life.”
Discovered on ASL commercial
The loss has left family, friends and fans mourning a young life that had already made an extraordinary impact.
Born into a multigenerational Deaf family, Kaylee grew up using American Sign Language as her first language and attended the Texas School for the Deaf.
“It’s a great school for Deaf students to go to,” she signed in an interview with the Houston Chronicle. “I have Deaf teachers, and everyone is able to communicate with me through sign language.”
Her path to Hollywood came unexpectedly after she appeared in a commercial for Convo, a company that provides on-demand American Sign Language (ASL) interpreting services.
“I had a connection with Convo. They asked me to be in a commercial one day, and so I did that commercial,” she told the Chronicle. “And then the assistant director of Kong: Skull Island saw me and they thought I matched the character description of Jia.”
That unexpected opportunity led to one of the franchise’s most memorable characters.
Kaylee later told AP she had never watched a monster movie before landing the role, crediting her father with introducing her to the genre.
Monsterverse megastar
Playing Jia, the orphaned deaf girl who communicates with Kong through sign language, Kaylee brought the heart of the film’s sequel, 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong.
She later explained that bringing the character to life was a team effort.
“I would read the script, and [director] Adam [Wingard] would explain to me exactly what he wanted me to do,” Hottle said in her interview with the Chronicle. “And I also had my parents’ support and translation of the script, and I just brought it to life.”
Her performance earned praise throughout the cast, including co-star Alexander Skarsgård, 49, who reportedly learned American Sign Language to communicate with Kaylee between scenes.
“It’s her first movie,” Skarsgård said in 2021. “It’s fascinating how comfortable she is in front of the camera and how quickly she takes notes from the director Adam. He’ll explain something and she’ll be like ‘got it, got it’ then she’ll just do it and everyone’s like ‘the f***… how did she?’ She’s so professional and just incredibly…there’s so much going on [with] her face, her expression and the subtleties of that is fascinating to watch.”
The film became one of the biggest box office successes of the pandemic era, earning about $470 million worldwide. Kaylee later returned as Jia in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, released in 2024, which grossed more than $572 million globally. Her performance earned a Saturn Award nomination for Best Performance by a Younger Actor.
Outside the Monsterverse, Kaylee also appeared in NBC’s Magnum P.I. and, according to IMDb, had a film titled What Doesn’t Kill Us in pre-production at the time of her death.
Privilege to be your mom
While moviegoers knew Kaylee for her performances on screen, her family has been remembering the daughter, sister and granddaughter they lost.
“Privilege to be your mom, Kaylee Hottle,” her mother, Ketsi, shared in a teary-eyed Facebook post. “I still feel Kaylee is with us.”
Her dad signed in a separate post: “Very grateful for the 18 years we had together – and wish we had more.”
Returning that sentiment in a 2024 interview with AP, Kaylee said: “I look up to a lot of people, but the one person I look up to, the few people I look up to mostly, are my parents and my sisters.”
Rest in peace, Kaylee. Before passing this story along, please share your best wishes for Kaylee Hottle’s loved ones in the comment section below.
READ MORE
- Cartel boss who spent years “poisoning American communities” finally gets his sentence
- Everyone spotted what two Argentina players did when they came face-to-face with Donald Trump on World Cup podium
