What Happened To Kaylee Hottle? Things You Should Know About Her

Kaylee Hottle is an actress, known for playing the role of Gia in the 2021 science-fiction action film Godzilla vs. Kong.” Hottle is one of the wonderful actors in “Godzilla and King Kong”, she plays a young girl who can use sign language to communicate with King Kong.

She originally started out in commercials with her Korean-American mother, which eventually led to a role in Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros.’s blockbuster monster saga. Making her debut in Adam Wingard’s film gave Kaylee the opportunity to showcase her acting talents alongside famous actors such as Rebecca Hall, Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown, and Brian Trey Henry.

Since Hottle portrayed a deaf Iwi indigenous girl in the film, people have shown a growing interest in finding out more about her and her story. So here are all the details about this young rising star.

Kaylee Hottle Is From Georgia 

Child actress Kaylee Hottle was born in Georgia. Although her date of birth is a bit unclear, reports suggest that Hottle was born on 1 May 2012.

Is Kaylee Hottle Actually Deaf?

Hottle is indeed deaf and comes from a deaf family with four generations of deaf relatives on her father’s side.

Both of her parents, Ketsy Carlson and Joshua Hottle, as well as her older sister, are deaf. Hottle, 10, also has three younger siblings, all of whom have normal hearing.

Kaylee Hottle Is Fluent In American Sign Language

Ms. Hottle is currently attending the Texas School for the Deaf and is a native American Sign Language speaker.

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Hottle’s Mother Is Korean 

Ketsi Carlson, Hottel’s mother, was reportedly born in South Korea and adopted by a family that moved to Superior, Wisconsin. Kelly’s father was born in Minnesota.

When Hotla’s father was young, his family moved a lot, including to places like Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado. Kelly’s parents, Kelly and Joshua, both attended the Minnesota School for the Deaf.

However, the couple is no longer together. Hottel’s mom, Kersi, now maintains a relationship with Ryan Kelly. During the filming of Godzilla vs Kong, both parents helped her with translating the script.

Kaylee Hottle Was In Commercials Before Landing A Role In The 2021 Movie

Born in Georgia, Kaylee started her career in commercials when she was about eight or nine years old. Hottle starred for the first time in 2016 in a public service announcement for the Glide app.

A year later, she appeared in a Mother’s Day commercial for Combo Relay. Prior to Godzilla vs. Kong, Kaylee also starred in 10 Deaf Children: One Powerful Message – a call to action to join the Deaf community in the ongoing fight for equality.

Kaylee began her big screen career in the 2021 MonsterVerse film, Godzilla vs. Kong.

She landed the role in Kong vs Godzilla when the casting director for the film contacted the casting director for a commercial featuring Hawley and her mother.

Although the film starred two gigantic species, Hottle held her own among the film’s main stars such as Alexander Skarsgård and Rebecca Hall. Hottle’s character in the film, Jia, is an orphan girl who has a close bond with Kong.

She is also the adopted daughter of Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall). Critics agree that Godzilla vs. Kong provided a quality representation of disability through Kaylee Hotchkiss.

Kaylee Hottle Didn’t Think Of Acting In Movies 

Initially, Hottle had no interest in becoming an actress, but as she grew up with actors around her, she realized it was fun. Hottle admits that before Kong, big monster action movies were not really her thing; she preferred to watch Disney movies and TV series.

Godzilla Vs Kong Casting Team Had A Hard Time Finding Kaylee For The Role Of Jia 

The casting team for Godzilla Vs Kong was unable to find Kaylee through ‘traditional casting channels’. Producer Alex Garcia revealed in April 2021 that it was not easy to find Hawley, but when they did, they knew she was perfect for the role of Gia.

Speaking about the search phase, Alex said: “It was very difficult,

“Finding the right girl to play Jia was an incredible challenge,”

Garcia added that her team had to look outside traditional casting channels to find Kaylee.

Alex said that she and her team were very lucky to be chosen over Hottle, who had never been in a film before. It was her casting director, Sarah Halley Finn, who was able to find her through a network of other casting directors and theatres. Garcia says that the moment she met Kaylee, the film crew knew she was the right girl for the part.

Kaylee Hottle Had Some Difficulties Reading Lines From Godzilla Vs Kong

Although she faced some difficulties, the team empathized with her needs and tried to make her job as easy as possible. Hottle admits that there were times when she misunderstood spoken parts of the script because of the ASL translation.

However, the pre-teen actress appreciated that the actors and some of the workers on the set learned ASL, which made it easier for her to communicate.

The Tarzan Actor Alexander Skarsgard Learned Sign Language Because Of Kaylee Hottle

While filming Kong vs Godzilla, Hottle impressed almost all her adult colleagues. One of the film’s main characters, Alexander Skarsgård, told Junkee that he learned American Sign Language so he could communicate with Caylee on set when they weren’t filming.

The actor said he was surprised at how quickly Caylee adapted to everything in her first film.

Explaining her acting skills, the Swedish actor said,

“It’s fascinating how comfortable she is in front of the camera and how quickly she takes notes from the director Adam [Wingard]. He’ll explain something and she’ll be like ‘got it, got it’ then she’ll just do it and everyone’s like ‘the f**k … how did she?’

Skarsgård noted that Hotla’s professionalism was “just unbelievable”. He also mentioned that there was so much going on in her face and facial expressions, and he found it fascinating to watch the subtleties of it.

Even actress Rebecca Hall said that working with Kaylee Hottle gave her the opportunity to learn a little ASL (American Sign Language).

Hottle Taught Sign Language To Some Of Godzilla Vs Kong Co-Stars 

Kaylee told the Daily Moth that teaching sign language to the cast of Kong vs Godzilla was a big challenge. She said that because her co-stars had never been in contact with deaf people before, she had to explain to them how to draw and use facial expressions.

Hottle says it was the hardest part, but once they got the hang of it, everything was fine. However, the former commercial actress says that she didn’t really have any difficulties because her fellow participants were very supportive.

Fellow Deaf Actress Millie Simmonds Is Kaylee Hottle’s Favorite Actor 

Hottle once admitted that one of her favorite stars is deaf actress Millie Simmonds. In an interview with Junkee for Godzilla vs. Kong on the set of A Quiet Place, Kaylee revealed that Simmonds is one of her favorite actresses.

Speaking about the Utah-born actress, who plays a character with a hearing impairment, Hottle said, “She’s an actress who’s a singer,

“I think that it’s important having deaf actors play deaf characters.”

The Monster Verse actress also added,

“Because deaf people are aware of their own language and they’re more familiar with the culture.”

The Korean-American actress noted that Bailey Madison (Bridge to Terabithia) is also an actress she adores.

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Kaylee Hottle Also Speaks For The Deaf Community

Hottle is also a frequent advocate for the deaf community. She also sometimes works as an ASL activist.

Hottle’s appearances in commercials and films have helped her spread the message about the importance of ASL. Caylee additionally appreciates the 2022 Academy Award winner for Best Picture, CODA, a film about the only hearing child in a deaf family.

She believes that CODA’s win at the Academy Awards was a huge step and that the film has been “amazing” in spreading awareness and representing deafness in film.

How Much Did Hottle Receive In Godzilla Vs Kong?

Given her fresh start, it may be some time before people find out the details of Hottle’s salary, including figures for her Godzilla Vs Kong or even her net worth.

However, another famous Kaylee lookalike, British actress Millie Bobby Brown, who managed to earn over $2 million for her role in the 2021 demon blockbuster, made slightly different headlines. Some sources claim that the amount was as high as $5 million, given the film’s box office ceiling.

Is Kaylee Hottle On Social Media? 

Hottle officially opened its Instagram account in April 2021. Among her first posts is a short video in which she tells her fans that “this is my official Instagram page, I wanted to thank you all for your support and love!”.

So far, she has only a few posts. Kaylee’s Insta posts mainly include her involvement as an activist in the Deaf community. Judging by her social media presence, Hottle was also at the 2021 Summer Anime Matsuri, an annual Japanese cultural congress in Houston, Texas.

Other Facts 

Hottle also plays volleyball at her school.

Quick Facts About Kaylee Hottle