Kayleigh McKee | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 14, 1994 Macomb, Illinois, U.S. |
| Occupation | Voice actress |
| Years active | 2016–present |
| Website | www |
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 .
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]
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 voices Sparky in Knights of Guinevere , an independent animated series co-created by Dana Terrace, John Bailey Owen, and Zach Marcus, which released its pilot episode on September 19. [33] On social media, McKee noted that she also voices the nurse and Orso, and said the series was "so, so cool to be a part of". [34]
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" [35] 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." [36] 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. [37]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Matthias | Lead 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] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake | Scarab | Lead role | [38] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021, 2022 | Drawfee Show | Herself | Special guest in two episodes | [39] [40] |
| 2025 | Knights of Guinevere | Sparky | Lead role | [33] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night | Mito (Beta Avatar) | [10] | |
| 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] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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] | ||
Also, shout-out to Kayleigh McKee, she's amazing as Kai!