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Actor Kaylee Hottle, who starred in the 2021 film Godzilla vs. Kong and its 2024 sequel Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, has died. She was 19.
The deaf actor's father, Joshua Hottle, confirmed to TMZ that Kaylee died following a serious car crash in Maryland on Tuesday morning. In a Facebook livestream, he used American Sign Language (ASL) to explain the circumstances of his daughter's death. He said she died en route to the hospital and that he had to fly from Texas to Maryland to claim her body.
"I am taking a flight that I never would like to take," Joshua wrote in the caption to the video.
He said that he had initially received a call from police about the crash. He said he later received another call during which he was told his daughter's heart had stopped on the way to the hospital, TMZ reported.
Kaylee was born in Atlanta and raised in an all-deaf family — her father's side of the family has had four generations of deaf relatives, Chron reported. She attended the Texas School for the Deaf, which released a statement on July 21 saying, "Our hearts are with Kaylee's family, friends, classmates, and everyone who knew and loved her during this incredibly difficult time."
"At this time, we have very limited information and ask that everyone respect the privacy of Kaylee's family and refrain from sharing or speculating about the circumstances surrounding the accident," the statement continued.
Millie Bobby Brown, who played Madison Russell in Godzilla vs. Kong, posted an Instagram story paying tribute to Kaylee, featuring an image of her from the movie.
"I'm so devastated to hear this," she wrote. "You will be deeply missed Kaylee."
Rebecca Hall, who also starred in the Godzilla films with Kaylee, also shared an Instagram post featuring images of Kaylee on set.
“Devastated to hear this news,” Hall wrote in the caption. “My heart goes out to your family. You will be missed Kaylee.”
Kaylee, who said her acting career began with a 2017 ad for the ASL translation app Convo, was praised for her breakout performance in the Godzilla franchise, in which her character, Jia, communicated with Kong through sign language. Alexander Skarsgård, her costar in the franchise, called her "so professional" in a 2021 interview with Junkee.
"It's fascinating how comfortable she is in front of the camera and how quickly she takes notes from the director," Skarsgård said. "He'll explain something and she'll be like 'got it, got it' then she'll just do it. … There's so much going on on her face, her expression and the subtleties of that is fascinating to watch."
Kaylee previously said she hoped the role would provide representation for the Deaf community.
"Jia being a deaf person in this world, it's so amazing to see her on the big screen," the actor said in a 2024 interview with Digital Spy. "In general, I hope that deaf people see her and they think the same thing, that she is as amazing as I think she is."
In an interview with KABC-TV's On the Red Carpet that same year, she spoke about feeling a "strong" connection to the Deaf community and wanting to be a successful performer.
"The deaf community is so small," she explained, "so, [I'm] hoping that these opportunities give bigger moments for the deaf community."
