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We have devastating news to report out of Hollywood today:
Kaylee Hottle — the deaf actress best known for her role in Godzilla vs. Kong — has passed away.
She was just 19 years old.
News of Hottle’s death comes courtesy of her father, Josh Hottle, who shared the news in a Facebook post before confirming it to TMZ:
In his Facebook video, Josh stated that Kaylee had been killed in a car accident, and he was preparing to fly to Maryland to identify her body.
“I am taking a flight that I never would like to take,” he tearfully told his audience.
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2007, Kaylee was raised in Austin, where she attended the Texas School for the Deaf.
She started acting at 9 years old with a commercial for Glide, a video messaging app popular within the deaf and hearing-impaired communities.
In 2021, she starred alongside Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, and Alexander Skarsgard in Godzilla vs. Kong.
Skarsgard and Hall earned praise for learning ASL in order to communicate with Kaylee on set.
“It’s her first movie,” Skarsgard raved to Junkee at the time.
“It’s fascinating how comfortable she is in front of the camera and how quickly she takes notes from the director Adam [Wingard],” he continued, adding:
“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–k?’ She’s so professional and … there’s so much going on on her face. Her expression and the subtleties of that is fascinating to watch.”
Hottle reprised her role as Jia, a deaf girl who lives on Skull Island, for the 2024 film Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.
Our condolences go out to Kaylee’s loved ones during this enormously difficult time.
