Kayleigh McKee

Last updated

Kayleigh McKee
Born (1994-01-14) January 14, 1994 (age 31)
Macomb, Illinois, U.S.
OccupationVoice actress
Years active2016–present
Website www.kayleigh-mckee.com

Kayleigh McKee is an American voice actress, known for providing voices in English dubs of Japanese anime and video games. Some of her noteworthy roles include Matthias Hildesheimer in The Strongest Sage With the Weakest Crest and Yuta Okkotsu in Jujutsu Kaisen 0 .

Contents

Early life

Kayleigh Grace Clementine McKee [1] was born on January 14, 1994 in Macomb, Illinois. [2] [3] She grew up in Galesburg, Illinois, and graduated from Abingdon High School in nearby Abingdon, Illinois. [3] McKee's father was a fan of anime and tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons ; he introduced McKee to the medium. [4] At a young age, she was obsessed with animation and participated in theater, choir, and wanted to be a voice actor. She also watched her father's friends draw their comics and she became an artist as a result, later moving to California, working on commercials, and her first video game role was with Hearthstone. [5]

Career

McKee voiced characters in anime dubs of various characters over the years. This included Kiku in One Piece , [5] and two characters in the 2020 video game Genshin Impact : Rongshi and Chai Yi. [6] Her role as Kiku was described by Beatrix Kondo of Game Rant as a positive depiction of a LGBTQ character, noted that McKee sharing the news of her casting was "met with earned applause" from One Piece fans, with McKee describing the role as the first time she had voiced a trans female character. [7] [8]

In 2021, McKee provided dubbed voices for various anime characters. Her voice acting for Pina in Beastars was praised by Anime News Network as a "standout" performance, and said to bring a "loveable attitude" to the character's "jaded personality." [9] She also voiced characters including Sei Satomi in Kageki Shojo!! , [10] Bat in The Detective Is Already Dead [11] Varden Dawngrasp in Hearthstone , [6] and two characters (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Randgriz) in Record of Ragnarok . On social media, McKee said that Randgiz's character had importance which could "not be understated" in the series and said people could hear her as many background characters. [12] She also described voicing Testament in Guilty Gear Strive as "so fun" to do and noted that she also voiced their "two little succubi" in the game as well. [13] She later told Game Rant that Varden was one character she identified with the most because she saw the character as a "Non-binary Blood Elf" due to her previous experience playing World of Warcraft as a kid. [5]

The following year, she provided the dubbed voices for Joan in Requiem of the Rose King , [14] Kuresawa in Sasaki and Miyano , [15] Itaru Saito in The Prince of Tennis II , [16] Kai Harn in Bastard!! Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy , [17] and Kusunoki in Lycoris Recoil [18] Her voice acting as Kai Harn was praised by Anime News Network columnist Jean-Karlo Lemus as "amazing." [19]

She also voiced three characters (Isamu Tamaru, Takuya's Mother, and Mizuki's Ex-Boyfriend) in Kotaro Lives Alone [20] [10] and two characters in video games: Zepydra in Diablo Immortal [6] and Eel Barnes in Escape Academy . Her voice acting for Isamu Tamaru was praised by Brittany Vincent of Decider as infusing the character with "effervescence and fun" and making the character "extremely memorable" as a result. [20] On social media, McKee described voicing Eel Barnes as "fun" and said she "loved bringing this type of energy to a character." [21]

The same year, McKee dubbed lead characters in two anime productions: The Strongest Sage With the Weakest Crest series (Matthias), [22] and the film Jujutsu Kaisen 0 Yuta Okkotsu). [23] [24] She was later interviewed by Anime News Network about the film, telling interviewer Jacki Jing that she went through some similar experiences to Yuta and brought that to voicing the character, to determine the voice and the trauma the character had experienced. [25] When interviewed, she told ScreenRant that her favorite part of Yuta's character was that no matter his situation and how he feels about himself, "he wants to help if he can - even when he thinks he can't...[and] he starts to learn that he needs to value himself to value the world and to help it." [26] She also told David Opie of Digital Spy that more anime are coming out with trans and gay characters, saying there is communication with Japanese voices, English dubbing, and that she had written to some studios about their trans characters and "what they should consider, and what they should maybe steer away from." [27]

In 2023, McKee had several voice roles. One was for the dubbed voice for Takaihito in My Happy Marriage [10] and the other was for the lead role in Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake : Scarab, an original character which did not exist in the original Adventure Time series'. [28] She told Game Rant she loved doing the latter role, stating that being part of the Adventure Time universe was a "full-on dream come true" and said she couldn't even describe what it meant to her. [5] Additional roles she voiced in 2023 included Alpione in Octopath Traveler II [10] and multiple characters in Cassette Beasts , including Dorian and Sunny. [10]

The year after, she did the dubbed voices for Yuta Okkotsu in Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 [5] and Nohmen in Mission: Yozakura Family , [10] and additional voices in the films Digimon Adventure and Digimon Adventure: Our War Game! , and dubbed voices of characters in the Ranma 1/2#Third anime series reboot series. [29] [30] [31] In March of that year, she told Game Rant that she identified with Yuta as a character, noting her similar life experiences, and said that she loved doing the dubbed voice of Charles Augustus Milverton in Moriarty the Patriot because she could use her British accent in a voice role. [5]

In 2025, McKee voiced a character in Tougen Anki . [32] She is scheduled to voice Sparky in Knights of Guinevere, an independent animated series co-created by Dana Terrace, John Bailey Owen, and Zach Marcus, which releases its pilot episode on September 19. [33]

Personal life

Being transgender, McKee was inspired by the actions of Laura Jane Grace, a transgender singer. This eventually motivated McKee to pursue a career voice acting in anime. [6] She has been described as using her voice range "as a trans gal to voice women, men, and beyond" [34] McKee later told The Mary Sue, in May 2024, that when she decided to transition, she wasn't sure she wanted to go into art and entertainment, so she went to school for illustration and acting, afraid if people would respect her, and said that Grace coming out as trans gave her "the courage to pursue what I do today." She also told the publication that sometimes she felt that there was "a drawback" from being openly trans, but other times "people have been very interested in getting representation." [35] Previously she has told told an interviewer at Anime Riverside that she didn't want to play live-action male roles, but she would "give voice to men, you know, male characters" due to her voice range as a trans woman. [36]

Filmography

Anime series

List of voice performances in anime series
YearTitleRoleNotesSource
2019 One Piece Kiku [10]
2021 Record of Ragnarok Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Randgriz [10]
Beastars Pina [9]
Kageki Shojo!! Sei Satomi [10]
The Detective Is Already Dead Bat [11]
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean Prison announcement (Episode 5), prisoner in infirmary [10]
2022 Requiem of the Rose King Joan [14]
Sasaki and Miyano Kuresawa [15]
The Strongest Sage With the Weakest Crest MatthiasLead role [22]
Kotaro Lives Alone Isamu Tamaru, Takuya's Mother, Mizuki's Ex-Boyfriend [10] [20]
The Prince of Tennis II Itaru Saito [16]
Bastard!! Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy Kai Harn [17]
Lycoris Recoil Kusunoki [18]
2023 My Happy Marriage Takaihito [10]
2024 Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Yuta Okkotsu [5]
Mission: Yozakura Family Nohmen [10]
2025 Tougen Anki Principal [32]

TV series

List of voice performances in television
YearTitleRoleNotesSource
2023 Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake ScarabLead role [37]

Web series

List of voice performances in online series
YearTitleRoleNotesSource
2025 Knights of GuinevereSparkyLead role [33]

Film

List of voice performances in film
YearTitleRoleNotesSource
2021 Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night Mito (Beta Avatar)[ citation needed ]
2022 Jujutsu Kaisen 0 Yuta Okkotsu Lead role [23]
2024 Digimon Adventure Additional Voices [29]
Digimon Adventure: Our War Game! Female Employee 2A, Little Boy 2B, Additional Voices [30]

Video games

List of voice performances in video games
YearTitleRoleNotesSource
2020 Genshin Impact Rongshi, Chai Yi [6]
2021 Hearthstone Varden Dawngrasp [6]
NEO: The World Ends with You Eiru, Jo Makita, Additional Voices [6]
Guilty Gear Strive Testament [13]
2022 Diablo Immortal Zepydra [6]
Escape Academy Eel Barnes [21]
2023 Octopath Traveler II Alpione [10]
Cassette Beasts Dorian, Sunny, Additional Voices [10]

References

  1. ↑ McKee, Kayleigh [@ghaspeyvo] (September 8, 2022). "You know what for today I'm gonna put my full name~" (Tweet). Archived from the original on September 8, 2022. Retrieved September 8, 2022– via Twitter.
  2. ↑ McKee, Kayleigh [@GhaspeyVO] (January 7, 2021). "Birthday One week 27 time" (Tweet). Archived from the original on March 31, 2022. Retrieved March 31, 2022– via Twitter.
  3. 1 2 McKee, Kayleigh [@ghaspeyvo] (June 16, 2022). "I'm just gonna say this into the void in case any Wikipedia editors see- I was born in *Macomb, Illinois*, I just grew up much of my life in and around Galesburg and consider it home. I graduated from Abingdon High school (Now Abingdon-Avon)! Its cool that I have a page though~" (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2022– via Twitter.
  4. ↑ Henderson, Taylor (March 28, 2022). "Meet the Trans Voice Actor Starring in the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 Movie". Pride.com . Archived from the original on June 24, 2025. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Haze, Roxxy (March 1, 2024). "Interview with Kayleigh McKee, Yuta Okkotsu of Jujutsu Kaisen, Pina in Beastars". Game Rant . Archived from the original on January 27, 2025. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Trans actor explains why voicing Hearthstone's first non-binary character was so important to her". PinkNews. August 8, 2021. Archived from the original on April 9, 2024. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  7. ↑ Kondo, Beatrix (January 1, 2023). "One Piece Casts Trans VA For Kiku's English Dub (Why It Matters So Much)". Game Rant . Archived from the original on August 31, 2025. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  8. ↑ Peters, Megan (December 26, 2022). "One Piece Casts Trans VA For Kiku's Dub Debut". Comic Book . Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  9. 1 2 The Cartoon Cipher (October 8, 2021). "Best Anime Dubs You Can Watch RIGHT NOW (Part 4)". Anime News Network . Archived from the original on March 19, 2025. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "Kayleigh McKee (visual voices guide) – Behind The Voice Actors". behindthevoiceactors.com. n.d. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  11. 1 2 Hazra, Adriana (October 3, 2021). "Funimation Reveals The Detective Is Already Dead Anime's English Dub Cast". Anime News Network . Archived from the original on July 22, 2025. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  12. ↑ McKee, Kayleigh [@ghaspeyvo] (June 17, 2021). "My first Anime! Hear me today in Record of Ragnarok as Razgriz, the Valkyrie sister! I did something special with her, to show that these voices, whether they are from gods are humans, *can* be a breaker of norms. Thanks so much to the folks at @SDIMediaGroup and @netflix!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved August 31, 2025– via Twitter.
  13. 1 2 McKee, Kayleigh [@GhaspeyVO] (March 21, 2022). "Cat's out of the bag~! I voice Testament in #GuiltyGearStrive! They have been SO fun to portray and I love them dearly I also voice their two little Succubi! Big shoutouts to my games agent @ErinHuckeCESD for the help and to @ArcSystemWorksU for trusting me with them!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on March 21, 2022. Retrieved August 31, 2025– via Twitter.
  14. 1 2 Hazra, Adriana (January 31, 2022). "Funimation Reveals Requiem of the Rose King Anime's English Dub Cast". Anime News Network . Archived from the original on August 4, 2025. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  15. 1 2 Mateo, Alex (February 4, 2022). "Funimation Streams Sasaki and Miyano Anime's English Dub". Anime News Network . Archived from the original on January 31, 2025. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  16. 1 2 "The Prince of Tennis II". Sound Cadence Studios. n.d. Archived from the original on March 31, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  17. 1 2 "Bastard!! -Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy- (2022) – English Dub Cast". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on March 24, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  18. 1 2 Pineda, Rafael Antonio (August 11, 2022). "Crunchyroll Adds English Dubs for Lycoris Recoil, Engage Kiss Later This Month". Anime News Network . Archived from the original on August 17, 2025. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  19. ↑ Lemus, Jean-Karlo; Jones, Steve (July 12, 2022). "This Week in Anime: The Trashy Treasures of BASTARD!!". Anime News Network . Archived from the original on February 16, 2023. Retrieved August 31, 2025. Also, shout-out to Kayleigh McKee, she's amazing as Kai!
  20. 1 2 3 Vincent, Brittany (March 14, 2022). "Stream It Or Skip It: 'Kotaro Lives Alone' on Netflix, A Refreshingly Honest and Endearing Anime Series". Decider . Archived from the original on September 7, 2023. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  21. 1 2 McKee, Kayleigh [@ghaspeyvo] (May 26, 2022). "I'm playing Eel Barnes in Escape Academy by @CoinCrewGames! This guy was so fun, and I loved bringing this type of energy to a character- truly a treat! It'll be coming to basically all platforms, so check their page out for details!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on May 26, 2022. Retrieved September 1, 2022– via Twitter.
  22. 1 2 Mateo, Alex (February 15, 2022). "Crunchyroll Reveals English Dub Premieres, Casts for Orient, In the Land of Leadale, Love of Kill, More Anime". Anime News Network . Archived from the original on July 29, 2025. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  23. 1 2 Mateo, Alex (February 25, 2022). "Crunchyroll Reveals English Dub Cast, English-subbed Trailer for Jujutsu Kaisen 0 Anime Film". Anime News Network . Archived from the original on January 31, 2025. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  24. ↑ Dupree, Nicholas; Thomas, Monique (September 29, 2022). "This Week in Anime: Jujutsu Kaisen 0 is a Near-Perfect Anime Movie". Anime News Network . Archived from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  25. ↑ Jing, Jacki; Beckett, James. "Everything You Need to Know About Jujutsu Kaisen 0". March 18, 2022. Archived from the original on December 26, 2024. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  26. ↑ Maldonado, Lawrence (March 24, 2022). "Kayleigh McKee & Anairis Quiñones Interview: Jujutsu Kaisen 0". ScreenRant . Archived from the original on March 24, 2022. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  27. ↑ Opie, David (March 20, 2022). "Kayleigh McKee talks queer anime and Yuta's future beyond Jujutsu Kaisen 0". Digital Spy . Archived from the original on March 12, 2023. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  28. ↑ Fleming, Ryan (June 18, 2024). "'Adventure Time: Fionna And Cake' Showrunner Adam Muto On Creating The Spin-Off & Making The Scarab To Avoid "Retreading What's Been Done" In Multiverse Stories". Deadline . Archived from the original on August 13, 2025. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  29. 1 2 "Digimon Adventure (Film)". Sound Cadence Studios. Archived from the original on August 8, 2025. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  30. 1 2 "Digimon Adventure: Our War Game!". Sound Cadence Studios. Archived from the original on August 8, 2025. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  31. ↑ "'Ranma 1/2' Reboot Launches with Brand-New English Cast". Animation Magazine . October 7, 2024. Archived from the original on June 27, 2025. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  32. 1 2 Hazra, Adriana (July 6, 2025). "Tougen Anki Anime's Trailer Reveals English Dub Cast". Anime News Network . Archived from the original on July 7, 2025. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  33. 1 2 Carter, Justin (August 30, 2025). "The First 'Knights of Guinevere' Trailer Invites You to a Creepy Trip". Gizmodo . Archived from the original on August 31, 2025. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  34. ↑ "VO Announcement: Kayleigh McKee". Anime USA. August 14, 2025. Archived from the original on August 31, 2025. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  35. ↑ Banks, Annie (May 26, 2024). "Kayleigh McKee 'Jujutsu Kaisen' Interview: 'I Want Yuta To Be at Sukuna's Downfall'". The Mary Sue . Archived from the original on July 19, 2025. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  36. ↑ Morrow, Maddie (June 6, 2022). "Kayleigh McKee Interview at Anime Riverside". Voice One. Archived from the original on July 9, 2025. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  37. ↑ Hailu, Selome (December 5, 2025). "'Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake' Renewed for Season 2 at Max". Variety . Archived from the original on January 20, 2025. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
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