Kaylee Hottle, a deaf actor known for playing Jia in Godzilla v Kong (2021) and Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire (2024), died on July 21, 2026. She was 18 years old. She was killed in a car crash in Frederick, Maryland, on a Tuesday morning, according to WTVG 13abc. The Guardian and TMZ both reported the news the same day.

Her father, Joshua Hottle, confirmed her death in a Facebook video using American Sign Language, the main language used by many deaf people in the United States. The video was titled "I am taking a flight that I never would like to take," as reported by The Guardian. Joshua Hottle also spoke directly to TMZ about his daughter's death. The Hottle family is entirely deaf.

Hottle attended the Texas School for the Deaf, which separately shared news of her death. She was cast as Jia, a deaf orphan who becomes close friends with Kong. The role was written for a deaf character and played by a deaf actor, which drew attention. Hottle earned a Saturn Award nomination for best performance by a younger actor. (The Saturn Awards recognize achievement in science fiction, fantasy, and horror films.) Her co-stars Rebecca Hall and Alexander Skarsgård learned sign language so they could talk with her directly on set, The Guardian reported.

Hottle played Jia again in Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, which came out in 2024. Across both films, the character was the emotional heart of the Kong storyline. Hottle's performance was central to how the movies explored ideas about communication and belonging between different beings. TMZ also published a photo gallery titled "Remembering Kaylee Hottle" on July 21, 2026, alongside its news coverage.

News of Hottle's death spread through several places at the same time: her father's sign-language video on Facebook, a direct interview with TMZ, and a statement from her former school. The way the news traveled shows how different kinds of media — a family posting online, an entertainment outlet doing an interview, and a local TV station sharing details — can all carry the same story to different audiences at once.

The bigger picture matters here for the deaf community. Deaf actors in big studio movies are still rare. Hottle's roles in two major Warner Bros. films made her one of the most recognizable deaf performers in today's cinema. Her Saturn Award nomination placed her in a category that has historically been dominated by hearing actors. Losing a performer at 18, before her career could fully take shape, means the deaf community has lost one of the few deaf actors whose name was known beyond a small circle of fans.