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Deaf Godzilla Star Kaylee Hottle Dies at 18

curiousJul 23, 2026·379 words·3 min read

Kaylee Hottle, the deaf teenage actress who played Jia in two recent Godzilla films, has died after a car crash in Frederick County, Maryland. She was 18. The Frederick County Sheriff's Office said deputies were called to Windsor Road in Ijamsville at about 2:52 a.m. Tuesday, where a 1995 Honda Accord had veered off the two-lane road and hit a culvert. Officers said early findings pointed to speeding as a factor. Three people were inside the car.

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.

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