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Kaylee Hottle: Kaylee Hottle, the deaf actress who portrayed Jia in two "Godzilla" blockbusters, has died. She was 19.
Her father, Joshua Hottle, confirmed the news to TMZ. He said Kaylee was killed in a car accident in Maryland on Tuesday morning.
Joshua also broke the news to family and friends during a nearly 23-minute live stream on social media.
He explained in American Sign Language that he was flying from Texas to claim his daughter's body.
According to Joshua, he first learned that Kaylee had been in a serious crash. Officials later called him to say her heart had stopped while she was being transported to the hospital.
Hottle was born in Atlanta, Georgia, into a multi-generational deaf family. She began her acting career in commercials.
One notable early role came at age 9, when she appeared in a PSA for Glide, a live video messaging app widely used within the deaf and hard-of-hearing community.
In 2021, Hottle landed the role of Jia in "Godzilla vs. Kong."
Her character was a teenager who communicated with King Kong through sign language and lived alongside Dr. Ilene Andrews, played by Rebecca Hall, on Skull Island.
Hottle reprised the role in the 2024 sequel, "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire."
She also appeared in the "Magnum P.I." reboot, playing a character named Joon in a Season 4 episode.
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