“Godzilla vs. Kong” star Kayley Hottle died in a tragic car accident on Tuesday.
she was 18 years old.
The actress’ father, Joshua Hottle, who is deaf, posted a tearful livestream on Facebook and shared the tragedy with TMZ.
He told ASL that the fatal accident occurred in Maryland.
Joshua, who was in Texas when authorities called him about the crash, signed off that he received a follow-up call saying his daughter’s heart had stopped on the way to the hospital.
He told the outlet he planned to fly to Maryland to retrieve the boy’s body.
Joshua addressed this in a 23-minute announcement on Facebook, captioned: “I’m on a plane I never want to be on.”
Social media users expressed their support in the comments, praising Joshua’s “smart and kind” child.
Kaylee was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 2007, but grew up in Austin and attended the Texas School for the Deaf.
She started acting at the age of nine.
Her first role was in a commercial for Glide, a video messaging app popular in the deaf community.
Kaley brought her talent to the big screen in 2021 when she played Gia in Godzilla vs. Kong.
Her character, among others, lives on Skull Island with Dr. Eileen Andrews, played by Rebecca Hall, and communicates with King Kong through sign language.
Hall and Alexander Skarsgard made headlines at the time for learning ASL to communicate with her on set.
“This is her first movie,” Skarsgard told Junkie. “It’s fascinating how comfortable she is in front of the camera and how quick she is to take notes from the director, Adam (Wingard).
“He explains something and she’s like, ‘Okay, okay,’ and then she just does it and everyone’s like, ‘Shit?'” the 49-year-old actor added. “She’s very professional and… there’s a lot going on on her face. Her facial expressions and the subtleties of it are so interesting to watch.”
In 2024, Cayley reprized the role in Godzilla X Kong: New Empire.
She also played Jun in the season 4 episode of “Magnum PI.”
