Deaf Godzilla actress Kaylee Hottle dies at 18; sister finishes her final film
The gist
Deaf actress Kaylee Hottle, 18, known as Jia in the Godzilla films, died in a Maryland car crash.
Her deaf sister Jasmine will complete her unfinished superhero film role.
How it unfolded
- Jul 21, 2026Kaylee Hottle, 18, died in a single-vehicle crash in Ijamsville, Maryland; the Frederick County Sheriff's Office said deputies were called around 2:52 a.m. to the 11400 block of Windsor Road.
- Jul 21, 2026Her father Joshua Hottle announced her death in an almost 23-minute Facebook livestream in ASL (American Sign Language), captioned "I am taking a flight that I never would like to take."
- Jul 21, 2026The Texas School for the Deaf in Austin, where she was a senior, posted a statement on her death.
Key terms
- Saturn Award
- An American annual award honoring science fiction, fantasy and horror in film and television, presented by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films.
- ASL
- A natural sign language used mainly by Deaf communities in the United States and much of Anglophone Canada.
- valedictorian
- An academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class at a school in the United States and Canada.
Source: Wikipedia