{"id":70557,"date":"2026-07-22T00:37:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T16:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=70557"},"modified":"2026-07-22T00:37:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T16:37:02","slug":"godzilla-vs-kong-actress-kaylee-hottle-dies-aged-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=70557","title":{"rendered":"Godzilla vs. Kong Actress Kaylee Hottle Dies Aged 18"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Godzilla vs. Kong actress Kaylee Hottle has died aged 18.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">The deaf actress, who played Jia 2021\u2019s Godzilla vs. Kong and 2024 sequel, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, was killed in a car accident on Tuesday morning in in Frederick, Maryland, TMZ reported. Her father, Joshua Hottle, announced the news in a livestream on Facebook via American Sign Language, while traveling to Texas to claim her body.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Hottle, from Atlanta, Georgia, comes from a multi-generational deaf family. Texas School for the Deaf, which Hottle attended, shared the news in a post on Instagram.<\/p>\n<p><output class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\" data-cy=\"article-slideshow\"><button type=\"button\" style=\"display:none\" class=\"jsx-2228525885\"\/><span data-cy=\"slideshow-view-trigger\"><\/p>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-preview\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 slideshow-preview\">\n<h3 class=\"title5 jsx-62124236 jsx-1085005187\" data-cy=\"slideshow-preview-title\">Godzilla vs. Kong Who&#8217;s Who: The (Human) Cast and Characters<\/h3>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-images-container\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 images-container\"><button type=\"button\" data-cy=\"hero-image\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 hero-image\"><img alt=\"Click through the slideshow to see the new and returning (human) cast of Godzilla vs. Kong...\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"\/><span class=\"button-text jsx-729543028 button button--primary jsx-3027214138 jsx-4266531355 row-pagination-button next contained centered round large\" data-cy=\"paginate next\" title=\"Open Slideshow\"><span class=\"ign-icon right-chevron jsx-2750866048 jsx-2919720488\" role=\"presentation\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-cy=\"right-chevron\" style=\"mask:url(https:\/\/kraken.ignimgs.com\/_next\/static\/media\/RightChevron.272be43c.svg?cors=1) no-repeat center center \/ contain;background:currentColor\"\/><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/output><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;It is with profound sadness that we share the heartbreaking news that one of our TSD seniors, Kaylee Hottle, tragically passed away yesterday in a car accident in Frederick, Maryland,&#8221; reads the statement.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;Our hearts are with Kaylee&#8217;s family, friends, classmates, and everyone who knew and loved her during this incredibly difficult time.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;At this time, we have very limited information and ask that everyone respect the privacy of Kaylee&#8217;s family and refrain from sharing or speculating about the circumstances surrounding the accident.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;We recognize this loss will have a significant impact on our TSD community. Counseling and support services are available for students and staff who may need them, with additional support being provided for Kaylee&#8217;s classmates and friends.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;Please keep Kaylee&#8217;s loved ones in your thoughts as we mourn this tremendous loss together.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Hottle had appeared in a number of commercials aimed at supporting deaf children before she landed a role in the MonsterVerse. She played Jia, one of the last remaining members of the Iwi tribe of Hollow Earth and Skull Island who was adopted by Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) and forms a kinship bond with Kong. The character is deaf and communicates with the giant gorilla via ASL. She reprised the role in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">In 2024, Hottle credited the video relay service app Convo with helping launch her film career. She told Chron she used it to communicate with fellow cast and crew members and even appeared in a 2017 ad for the company.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">\u201cI had a connection with Convo. They asked me to be in a commercial one day, and so I did that commercial,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd then the assistant director of [Kong: Skull Island] saw me and they thought I matched the character description of Jia.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><em>Photo by Stewart Cook\/Getty Images for Warner Bros.<\/em><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><em>Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<center><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/kaylee-hottle-who-played-jia-in-godzilla-vs-kong-and-godzilla-x-kong-the-new-empire-dies-aged-18\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><br \/>\n<center\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Godzilla vs. Kong actress Kaylee Hottle has died aged 18. The deaf actress, who played Jia 2021\u2019s Godzilla vs. Kong and 2024 sequel, Godzilla x&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":70558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[430,5747,3134,8829,26921,26920,5231],"class_list":["post-70557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech-gadgets-reviews","tag-actress","tag-aged","tag-dies","tag-godzilla","tag-hottle","tag-kaylee","tag-kong","wpcat-32-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=70557"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70557\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/70558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=70557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=70557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=70557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}