Kaylee Hottle was born into a multigenerational Deaf family and grew up using American Sign Language as her native language. Four generations of relatives on her father’s side were part of the Deaf community, giving Kaylee a strong connection to Deaf culture from the beginning of her life.
Her journey in front of the camera began as a child. In 2017, she appeared in an advertisement for Convo, a video relay service created for the Deaf community. She also participated in commercials and advocacy projects promoting Deaf awareness and equal opportunities.
That early appearance ultimately helped lead Kaylee to the role that would introduce her to millions of people. After filmmakers saw her work, she was selected to portray Jia in the major motion picture Godzilla vs. Kong. Released in 2021, the film marked her feature-film debut.
Jia was a young Deaf orphan from Skull Island who shared a unique emotional connection with Kong. The two communicated through sign language, allowing Kaylee to bring warmth and humanity to a story built around enormous creatures and spectacular battles. Much of her performance required her to react to a character who would be added digitally later. Working against green screens and visual markers, she created a relationship with Kong through imagination, facial expression, and movement.
Kaylee also helped members of the cast understand American Sign Language and the importance of facial expression within it. Her co-stars Rebecca Hall and Alexander Skarsgård learned ASL so they could communicate with her directly during filming.
She returned as Jia in the 2024 sequel, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. The film gave Jia a larger personal journey as she discovered more about her heritage and her place in the world. Kaylee’s performance earned her a Saturn Award nomination for Best Younger Performer in a Film.
Outside of the MonsterVerse films, Kaylee appeared in an episode of Magnum P.I. She was also a student at the Texas School for the Deaf and competed as a member of the school’s track-and-field team.
Kaylee spoke openly about the need for more Deaf actors and crew members in entertainment. She wanted Deaf young people to see that opportunities were available to them and that deafness did not place limits on what they could accomplish.