Kaylee Hottle, deaf 'Godzilla' actor, killed in car crash at 18
[July 22, 2026]
By REBECCA BOONE and LARRY LAGE
Kaylee Hottle, a deaf actor best known for her starring role in two
“Godzilla” films, died in a car crash in Maryland early Tuesday morning,
the Frederick County Sheriff's Office said. She was 18.
Hottle was one of two passengers in the car when it went off the road
and hit a culvert in Ijamsville before 3 a.m. The driver was taken to a
local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and the other
passenger declined medical treatment, according to a news release from
the sheriff's office. Excessive speed is believed to be a factor in the
crash, which is under investigation, the sheriff's office said.
Hottle was a native signer of American Sign Language, and her family
members are also deaf. Her parents, Joshua and Ketsi Hottle, shared
emotional video statements about her death on social media sites.
“Kaylee’s mom and four siblings are crushed,” her father said in ASL in
a post from an airport. “They are together at home, grieving. I am on my
way to Maryland to bring Kaylee’s body back home.”
Hottle’s heart stopped before she arrived at a hospital, transported by
air from the scene of the accident, her father said. “Very grateful for
the 18 years we had together — and wish we had more,” he said.
Joshua Hottle also reached out to the driver, described by the sheriff's
office as a 19-year-old Frederick man.
“I have forgiven you,” her father said. “Don’t let this incident ruin
the rest of your life.”
“I still feel Kaylee is with us,” her mother said in ASL in a post.
In “Godzilla vs. Kong” and the sequel, “Godzilla x Kong: The New
Empire,” Hottle played an orphaned girl named Jia who sees beyond Kong's
threatening appearance and forms a special bond with the monster,
communicating with him using sign language.
“I’m so devastated to hear this. You will be deeply missed Kaylee,” her
“Godzilla” co-star Millie Bobby Brown posted on Instagram.
Co-star Alexander Skarsgård, who learned ASL to communicate with Hottle,
told the pop culture website Junkee in 2021 that he and others were
impressed by the young ingenue's professionalism and her ability to
quickly incorporate the director's notes into her acting.
In a 2024 interview with The Associated Press, Hottle said through an
interpreter that she hadn't watched monster movies before she was cast
in “Godzilla,” so her father helped her understand the genre.
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Kaylee Hottle appears at the premiere of "Godzilla x Kong: The New
Empire," in Los Angeles on March 25, 2024. (Photo by Richard
Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)
“I look up to a lot of people, but the one person I look up to, the few
people I look up to mostly, are my parents and my sisters,” Hottle said.
Hottle said that when she was working on the first film, she was a bit
concerned about whether she would be able to return to her “normal
life," afterward.
“People do recognize me at school, yes, but it's not as bad as I thought
it would be,” Hottle said.
Hottle previously appeared in a 2021 television episode of “Magnum P.I.”
She was listed as appearing in the upcoming film “What Doesn’t Kill Us.”
“I’m so heartbroken. My heart goes out to her family during this
unimaginable time,” Alaqua Cox, her co-star in that film and fellow deaf
actor, wrote on Instagram.
Other prominent deaf actors also shared messages of grief online.
“I am absolutely gutted about the passing of sweet Kaylee Hottle. May
her beauty and talent be a memory for eternity,” Oscar winner Marlee
Matlin wrote on Instagram.
Fellow Oscar winner Troy Kotsur, who starred in the film “Coda,” wrote
that Hottle's death made him think of his own daughter, and reminded him
not to take time for granted.
“I have no words to express on what happened this morning,” Kotsur
wrote, offering his “deepest condolences” to the Hottle family.
Officials with Texas School for the Deaf in Austin also announced
Hottle's death on Facebook, writing that counseling and support services
would be available to her classmates and friends.
“Please keep Kaylee's loved ones in your thoughts as we mourn this
tremendous loss together,” the school wrote.
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Boone reported from Boise, Idaho. Lage reported from Ann Arbor,
Michigan.
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