Kaylee Hottle, the American deaf actress who gained international recognition playing Jia — a deaf orphan who communicates with King Kong in sign language — in the MonsterVerse films Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024), has died at the age of 19. She was fatally injured in a single-vehicle crash in the early hours of 21 July 2026 in Frederick County, Maryland, when a 1995 Honda Accord left the roadway and struck a storm drain, with authorities suspecting excessive speed as the cause. Hottle's death drew an outpouring of tributes from Hollywood, including from co-stars Millie Bobby Brown and Oscar winner Marlee Matlin, and is being mourned as a significant loss for deaf representation in mainstream cinema.