Kaylee Hottle, the deaf actress known for her role as Jia in the 'Godzilla' franchise, has died. She was 18.
Her father, Joshua Hottle, confirmed to TMZ that she was killed in a car accident early Tuesday morning in Maryland.
Joshua shared the news in a nearly 23-minute live stream on social media, using American Sign Language to explain that he had to fly from Texas to claim her body.
He said he learned Kaylee was involved in a serious crash, and officials called him shortly after to inform him her heart stopped on the way to the hospital.
Kaylee, originally from Atlanta, Georgia, came from a multi-generational deaf family.
She began her career in commercials, including a PSA for the video messaging app Glide, which is popular in the deaf and hard-of-hearing community, when she was just 9.
In 2021, she played Jia in 'Godzilla vs. Kong,' a teenager who communicates with King Kong via sign language and lives on Skull Island with Dr. Ilene Andrews, played by Rebecca Hall.
She reprised the role in the 2024 sequel 'Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.'
Kaylee also appeared in an episode of the 'Magnum P. I.'
reboot as a character named Joon.
