Child Star Dead: 'Godzilla vs Kong' Actress Kaylee Hottle, 18, Tragically Dies in Car Crash
Kaylee Hottle previously appeared in two 'Godzilla vs Kong' movies.
July 21 2026, Published 1:35 p.m. ET
Godzilla Vs Kong actress Kaylee Hottle has tragically died in a car crash, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The 18-year-old passed away on Tuesday, July 21, after an accident in Maryland.
'Taking A Flight That I Would Never Like To Take'
Hottle's father told how he traveled to Texas to identify his daughter's body.
The talented star, who was deaf, played a young girl who could communicate with Godzilla using sign language in the 2021 film Godzilla vs Kong and its 2024 sequel, Godzilla Vs Kong: The New Empire.
Before her big-screen breakthrough, Hottle starred in commercials for products used by the deaf and hard of hearing community.
The movie star's father, Joshua, broke the news with followers in a livestream titled "I am taking a flight that I never would like to take," in which he described in American Sign Language having to travel from Texas to claim his daughter's body.
Hottle, here with her family at the 2024 premiere of 'Godzilla Vs Kong: The New Empire', died on her way to hospital.
Joshua said he received a phone call from officials telling him his daughter's heart had stopped on the way to the hospital, not long after he learned about the accident.
Hottle played Jia in the two Godzilla films and had the script translated into ASL with the help of her parents and another individual.
Speaking to The Daily Moth in 2021, she said: "I was fine with memorizing the script and signing my lines, but the tough part was signing out the 'spoken' parts because we had to change it, and sometimes they’d tell us it was wrong, but they didn’t understand that ASL changes almost everything.
"Because the interpreter said what I said. The producer and director would sometimes say 'Don't say that' and want me to follow the script, but the signs for that sentence would be different in ASL."
Kaylee Hottle Taught Her Castmates How To Sign
Hottle, here with co-stars Fala Chen and Rebecca Hall, educated her castmates in ASL.
She added, "There was one instance where there was a misunderstanding between us related to the ASL translation, which caused a delay, but they later understood."
Hottle also taught her castmates how to sign: "Teaching the cast how to sign. They had never interacted with a deaf person before. I had to explain how to sign and use facial expressions.
"That was the hard part, but when they picked up on it, it was fine. I didn’t really have challenges, they were very accommodating. Some of the workers learned how to sign."
Hottle said her character had a "special" connection with King Kong.
"Because Kong and my character had a special bond. We signed with each other. Not with Godzilla; it was different. Then later we met," she said at the time.
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Co-star Alexander Skarsgard branded Hottle a 'scene stealer.'
Hottle's co-star Alexander Skarsgård praised her acting, calling her a scene stealer. He even learned American Sign Language for her.
Hottle "steals the movie," he told Junkee in 2021. "It's her first movie. It's fascinating how comfortable she is in front of the camera and how quickly she takes notes from the director Adam (Wingard)."
He added, "He'll explain something, and she'll be like 'got it, got it' then she'll just do it, and everyone's like 'the f-ck … how did she?' She's so professional and just incredibly … there's so much going on on her face, her expression, and the subtleties of that is fascinating to watch."
In addition to her role in the Godzilla films, Hottle appeared on an episode of Magnum P.I.
