{"id":3988,"date":"2026-07-21T17:06:37","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T17:06:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=3988"},"modified":"2026-07-21T17:06:37","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T17:06:37","slug":"kaylee-hottle-godzilla-vs-kong-actress-dies-at-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=3988","title":{"rendered":"Kaylee Hottle, \u2018Godzilla Vs. Kong\u2019 Actress, Dies at 18"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<!-- do not apply CSS styles to this element! --><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\n\tKaylee Hottle, a deaf actress who played the character of Jai in two <em>Godzilla vs. Kong <\/em>franchise movies, has died. She was 18.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=3986\">Ed Harris Slams His \u2018Dutton Ranch\u2019 Role: \u201cGet Me the F*** Out of Here\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\tTMZ was first to report on Hottle\u2019s death in a tragic car crash on Tuesday morning in Maryland, as confirmed by her father, Joshua Hottle to the publication. Coming from an all-deaf family, Joshua Hottle also used American Sign Language (ASL) via a post on Facebook to convey his grief, alongside the caption: \u201cI am taking a flight that I never would like to take.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\n\tThe Texas School for the Deaf, where Hottle was educated, in its own Facebook post paid tribute to its former student. \u201cIt 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. Our hearts are with Kaylee\u2019s family, friends, classmates, and everyone who knew and loved her during this incredibly difficult time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\n\tHottle made her movie screen debut in both the original <em>Godzilla vs. Kong<\/em> movie at the age of 9 and then in the <em>Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire <\/em>sequel. She played the role of Jia, a deaf, orphaned indigenous Iwi girl rescued on Skull Island by Kong, and then raised by Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall), an anthropological linguist working for U.S. government monster research organization Monarch.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tHer character\u2019s ability to communicate with the giant ape via ASL created poignant moments in the movies. That role was preceded by Hottle appearing in a 2017 commercial for the video relay service\u00a0app\u00a0Convo around Mother\u2019s Day, where the young girl\u2019s ability to convey emotion using sign language convinced the producers of the <em>Godzilla vs. Kong movies <\/em>to cast her in the role of Jai.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=3984\">\u2018The Brutalist\u2019 EP, \u2018Nawi\u2019 Makers Strike Three-Film Co-Pro Deal, Set Kenya Soccer Doc \u2018Champions of Nowhere\u2019 (Exclusive)<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\u201cI had a connection with Convo. They asked me to be in a commercial one day, and so I did that commercial. And then the assistant director of [<em>Kong: Skull Island<\/em>] saw me and they thought I matched the character description of Jia,\u201d Hottle said using ASL for a profile in a March 2024 edition of the <em>Houston Chronicle<\/em> newspaper.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tShe added about her acting experience on set: \u201cI would read the script, and [director] Adam [Wingard] would explain to me exactly what he wanted me to do. And I also had my parents\u2019 support and translation of the script, and I just brought it to life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\nAlexander Skarsgard in a March 2021 profile in the Australian pop culture Junkee website praised Hottle, his deaf co-star, for being a surprisingly assured actress on screen and on set. \u201cIt\u2019s her first movie. It\u2019s fascinating how comfortable she is in front of the camera and how quickly she takes notes from the director Adam (Wingard). He\u2019ll explain something and she\u2019ll be like \u2018got it, got it\u2019 then she\u2019ll just do it and everyone\u2019s like \u2018the fuck \u2026 how did she?\u2019 She\u2019s so professional and just incredibly \u2026 There\u2019s so much going on on her face, her expression and the subtleties of that is fascinating to watch,\u201d Skarsgard said.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=3982\">How Prince Saved \u2018New Girl\u2019: Inside the Show\u2019s Most Iconic Episode (Exclusive Excerpt)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#039;Godzilla Vs. Kong&#039; actress Kaylee Hottle, 18, has died in a car crash.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3987,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2764,2765,39],"class_list":["post-3988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting","tag-alexander-skarsgard","tag-godzilla-vs-kong","tag-obituaries"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Kaylee Hottle, \u2018Godzilla Vs. 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