Kaylee Hottle
No plate on record.
Kaylee Hottle was an American deaf actress known for her roles in Godzilla vs. Kong and its 2024 sequel.
Particulars
Kaylee Hottle was born in 2007 into an all-deaf family with four generations of deaf relatives on her father's side. She was fluent in American Sign Language and attended the Texas School for the Deaf in Austin, Texas, where she competed in track and field. Before her film career, she appeared in a 2017 commercial for video relay service Convo and participated in informational projects promoting support for the Deaf community.
Hottle made her feature-film debut in 2021 as Jia in Godzilla vs. Kong, playing a deaf Iwi native who forms a special bond with Kong. Casting director Sarah Halley Finn sought a deaf actress for the role and discovered Hottle through her Convo commercial. Her co-stars Rebecca Hall and Alexander Skarsgård learned ASL to communicate with her on set. She reprised the role in 2024's Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, earning a Saturn Award nomination for Best Performance by a Younger Actor.
Hottle died at age 19 in a car accident in July 2026. Her portrayal of Jia was honored with a Seal of Authentic Representation from the Ruderman Family Foundation for authentic disability representation in film.
Compiled from source reports and Wikipedia. Automated record.