Background
Butler was born Brett Anderson in Montgomery, Alabama, the eldest of five sisters.
Butler was born Brett Anderson in Montgomery, Alabama, the eldest of five sisters.
Before experiencing success as a stand-up comic, she worked as a cocktail waitress. One of the first notable appearances for Butler was on Dolly Parton"s ill-fated 1987 variety series, Dolly. Parton subsequently hired Butler as a writer for the remainder of the show"s season, before it was canceled.
She was the star of the American Broadcasting Company television show Grace Under Fire from 1993 to 1998.
During the show, she battled a recurring drug addiction and spent time in rehabilitation Butler published her memoirs, entitled Knee Deep in Paradise, in 1996.
In February 1998, due to her erratic behavior stemming from substance abuse, she was dismissed from the show and American Broadcasting Company canceled the series. After Grace was cancelled in 1998, Butler moved out of Los Angeles and onto a farm in Georgia where she lived with 15 pets.
In 2008, Butler headlined at an arts fundraiser and spoke freely with a reporter about her depression, past drug addiction, television work and current life on a farm.
She also expressed interest in writing another book In October 2011, Butler appeared on The Rosie Show and reported being sober since 1998. A 2011 Hollywood Reporter article said that when the money ran out, she turned to a homeless shelter for cover.
By this time Butler was attempting to make a career comeback, and is working on "developing a reality television show about her self-professed psychic abilities and performing at the Downtown Comedy Club in Los Los Angeles"
Beginning in June 2012, Butler appeared in a recurring role on the Columbia Broadcasting System soap The Young and the Restless playing ex-psychiatrist Tim Reed"s girlfriend.
Butler also has a recurring role as the bartender at the restaurant that Charlie Goodson frequents in the Forex show Anger Management starring Charlie Sheen.