Kaylee Hottle was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to an all-deaf family, with her father's side having four generations of deaf relatives, while her mother is of Korean descent.

Kaylee attended the Texas School for the Deaf in Austin, Texas, where she competed in track and field.

Before making her film debut, she appeared in commercials, particularly a commercial for the video relay service Convo. She also reportedly appeared in a PSA for the live video messaging app Glide, which is used by the deaf and hard-of-hearing community.

She made her debut in the 2021 film Godzilla vs. Kong, where she played Jia, a deaf orphan who forms a close bond with Kong.

Her co-actors Rebecca Hall and Alexander Skarsgard learned  American Sign Language (ASL), so they could communicate with Hottle on set when not acting.

Later, she reprised her role as for the 2024 film Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.

For her role in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Kaylee was also nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor at the 52nd Saturn Awards.

In 2021, Kaylee also appeared in an episode of the action television series Magnum P.I.

Hottle sustained injuries and died on her way to the hospital in a single-vehicle collision in Ijamsville, Maryland, on July 21, 2026, at age 18.

Several celebrities, including Millie Bobby Brown and her co-star Rebecca Hall, paid heartfelt tribute to Kaylee after the news of her passing broke out.