Brett Butler Biography

Brett Butler (born January 30, 1958) is an American actress, writer, and stand-up comedian. She played the title role in the comedy series Grace Under Fire.

Early life

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.

Career

One of the first notable appearances for Butler was on Dolly Parton's ill-fated 1987 variety series, Dolly. Parton hired Butler as a writer for the remainder of the show's season, but the series was subsequently cancelled after one season of lackluster ratings.

She was the star of the ABC television show Grace Under Fire from 1993 to 1998. During the show, she battled a recurring drug addiction and spent time in rehab.

Butler published her memoirs, titled Knee Deep in Paradise, in 1996. The book was started before attaining her celebrity status, and candidly addresses much of this time frame, ending the autobiography before Grace Under Fire's television debut.

In February 1998, due to her erratic behavior stemming from substance abuse, she was dismissed from the show and ABC 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 was working on developing a reality TV show about her self-professed psychic abilities and performing at the Downtown Comedy Club in Los Angeles.

Beginning in June 2012, Butler appeared in a recurring role on the CBS soap The Young and the Restless playing ex-psychiatrist Tim Reid's girlfriend.

Butler also had a recurring role as the bartender at the restaurant that Charlie Goodson frequents in the FX show Anger Management starring Charlie Sheen.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	The Child Ain't Right	Herself	Showtime Stand-Up Comedy special
2000	Bruno	Sister Della Rosa
2000	Militia	Bobbi
2005	Mrs. Harris	Tarnowner Ex #1	Television film
2005	Vampire Bats	Shelly Beaudraux	Television film
2006	Moochers	Host	Television film
2014	Beach Cougar Gigolo	Melinda Maxwell	Pre-production
2014	Anchor Baby	Ruth Chu	Pre-production
2016	The Comedian	Herself
2018	Friday"?s Child	Ms. LeField

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	Dolly	Rhonda	Episode: "1.15"
1993-1998	Grace Under Fire	Grace Kelly	112 episodes People's Choice Award for Favorite Female Performer in a New TV Series Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Actress in a Quality Comedy Series Nominated"?Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy (1995, 1997) Nominated"?Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Actress in a Quality Comedy Series (1994, 1996-97)
1995	Women of the House	Brett Butler	Episode: "Women in Film"
1995	The Larry Sanders Show	Brett Butler	Episode: "I Was a Teenage Lesbian"
1997	The Drew Carey Show	Grace Kelly	Episode: "Drew Gets Married"
1997	Ellen	Grace Kelly	Episode: "Secrets & Ellen"
1997	Coach	Grace Kelly	Episode: "Viva Las Ratings"
2005	My Name Is Earl	Connie Darville	Episode: "White Lie Christmas"
2012	Archer	Trish	Episode: "Space Race - Part 2"
2012	The Young and the Restless	Beth Hortense	9 episodes
2012-2014	Anger Management	Brett	38 episodes
2015-2017	The Leftovers	Sandy	Episodes: "No Room at the Inn" + "Don't Be Ridiculous"
2016	How To Get Away With Murder	Michaela's adoptive Mom Trishelle	Episode 35: "It's About Frank" Episode 36: "Is Someone Really Dead?" Episode 39: "Who's Dead?"
2018-2019	The Walking Dead	Tammy Rose Sutton	6 episodes
2019	Top of the Morning