Kaylee Hottle, deaf 'Godzilla' actor, killed in car crash at 18

Kaylee Hottle, a deaf actress 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, a 19-year-old Frederick man, 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.

“Privilege to be your mom, Kaylee Hottle,” Ketsi Hottle wrote on her video post.

“I am taking a flight I would never like to take,” wrote Hottle's father.

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.

Costar 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.

“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 signed.

Hottle signed 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 signed.

Hottle was listed as appearing in the upcoming film “What Doesn’t Kill Us.” She previously appeared in a 2021 television episode of “Magnum P.I.”

“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.

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. ___ Boone reported from Boise, Idaho.