Deaf Godzilla Actress Kaylee Hottle Dies at 18

Hottle grew up in a family where everyone was deaf. American Sign Language (ASL) was her first language. As a child, she won the role of Jia in Godzilla vs. Kong and its sequel. Jia is a girl who uses sign language to talk to the giant ape. She once said it was hard to turn a spoken script into ASL. Her parents helped with the translation. She also taught other actors how to sign, and her co-star Alexander Skarsgard learned ASL so that they could talk off camera.

Her father, who is also deaf, confirmed her death in a livestream. She had also acted in a television series and made commercials for deaf customers. Her school in Texas said it was very sad and is now offering counselling to students and staff.