Kaylee Hottle

Kaylee Hottle was a trailblazing young actress, a proud member of the deaf community, and a voice for authentic representation in Hollywood — all before she had finished high school. Born on May 1, 2007, in Atlanta, Georgia, she came into the world surrounded by the language she would one day bring to millions: American Sign Language. Kaylee grew up in a multi-generational deaf family — four generations on her father Joshua's side — and was fluent in ASL from the start. Her mother Ketsi Carlson, born in Korea and adopted into a Wisconsin family, added another layer of rich cultural heritage to Kaylee's identity. Her path to the screen began early. At nine years old, she appeared in public service announcements for the video relay apps Glide (2016) and Convo (2017), showing even then a natural ease in front of the camera. But it was 2021 that changed everything. At fourteen, Kaylee was cast as Jia — a deaf Iwi orphan who communicates with King Kong through sign language — in the blockbuster film Godzilla vs. Kong, directed by Adam Wingard. The casting was historic: a deaf character authentically portrayed by a deaf performer. Co-stars Alexander Skarsgård and Rebecca Hall learned ASL to communicate with her on set, a gesture that reflected the production's genuine respect for her craft. Skarsgård later said simply: "She steals the movie." Kaylee reprised her role in the 2024 sequel Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, earning a Saturn Award nomination for Best Performance by a Younger Actor. She also appeared in an episode of the Magnum P.I. reboot in 2021. Throughout her young career, she spoke openly and passionately about deaf representation in cinema, carrying what she described as a genuine hope that deaf audiences would see themselves on screen. Away from the spotlight, Kaylee was a student at the Texas School for the Deaf in Austin, where she competed in track and field and was a beloved senior at the time of her death. She was funny, playful, and — by every account of those who worked with her — possessed of a warmth that filled every room she entered. Kaylee Hottle died tragically in a car accident in Frederick, Maryland, on July 21, 2026. She was 19 years old. She leaves behind her father Joshua, her mother Ketsi, an older deaf sister, and three younger hearing siblings. The world she was only beginning to shape will carry her light forward.