Millie Bobby Brown leads tributes as heartbroken Godzilla cast mourn Kaylee Hottle’s death
Following the heartbreaking news, Kaylee Hottle’s Godzilla castmates have been posting tributes across X.
Some genuinely sad news out of the Godzilla camp – Kaylee Hottle, who played Jia in the recent MonsterVerse films, has died at just 18 after a car crash in Maryland. Her father, Joshua Hottle, confirmed the news, and naturally, her co-stars are reeling. Fans of the franchise – and especially of Hottle's quietly powerful performance – will remember her for that rare kind of screen presence you don't see every day.
She was only 18.
Tributes from the MonsterVerse
Millie Bobby Brown led the tributes – you probably know her as Madison Russell in the series (and, of course, from that other little show, Stranger Things). Brown posted a black-and-white shot of Hottle holding a King Kong toy, saying she was 'so devastated' to hear about Hottle's death and that she'll be 'deeply missed.' The image itself tells you everything you need to know about how adored Hottle was on set.
The outpouring didn't stop there. Marlee Matlin – one of the few Deaf actors to land an Oscar, and a vocal advocate for better Deaf representation – put out her own tribute, describing herself as 'absolutely gutted.' She highlighted Hottle's 'beauty and talent,' and made a point of urging people to appreciate their loved ones while they can. This is coming from someone who knows first-hand how rare it is to see a Deaf actor step into a mainstream blockbuster.
From Atlanta to the MonsterVerse
Hottle grew up in Atlanta as part of a multigenerational Deaf family – which, frankly, probably helped shape her standout role as Jia, the girl with a hearing impairment who communicates with Kong through sign language. Her Hollywood debut was fairly recent: she was only 9 when she landed her first gig in a commercial for Convo, a video messaging platform popular among the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community.
Her feature break came in 2021's Godzilla vs. Kong, where she pretty much stole every scene she was in. That film set up one of the most genuinely affecting relationships in the franchise, and Hottle's Jia brought a level of emotional reality the MonsterVerse hasn't always nailed. She was back again for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire in 2024, trading scenes with Brown, Rebecca Hall, and Brian Tyree Henry as the MonsterVerse kept growing. And though a lot of people knew her from the Godzilla films, Hottle also appeared in a 2021 episode of Magnum P.I.